It Had To Be You
by KateDessi
Summary: Hermione and Draco find themselves friends under circumstances... and nothing more than that, surely? But he smiled that crooked smile and Hermione could have sworn her heart melted on the spot. He looked really boyish and very different from the Malfoy she used to know and the Malfoy she had come to know.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **This is a work of FanFiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, trademarked by none other than J.K. Rowling. Other names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products solely of my imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental._

_**Warnings: **Implicit sexual content, occasional profanity, almost everyone is out of character, debatable AU (alternate universe), there are canon references, and it is quite FLUFFY (but with a series of twists and turns)!_

_**Timeline: **Post-Hogwarts, following EWE (epilogue, what epilogue?) format, and is set roughly eleven or twelve years after the war._

**_Important note: _**_This is a story of love, friendship and family. Highly encouraged for a bit of light reading. If you are looking for dark themes and angst, kindly look elsewhere. Otherwise, please enjoy, have a good laugh and review x_

* * *

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 1**

As the Second Wizarding War had reached its conclusion, Hermione Granger thought she can move on with her life as a regular witch. But it wasn't so – as her name had been exposed to fame, due to her dedication in fighting for a world she had never thought was real – where she had been dubbed as a "war hero", some even called her a "celebrity", and had been a "role model" to many, many young women. It was flattering but she can hardly take credit for the others – who had been more involved than she. For the first few years, she went along with it, but then it got old fast and she had focused on her studies again, to become a healer.

Of course, her love life had been as equally cluttered. She had settled into a comfortable relationship with her best friend, Ron Weasley and it didn't take long for them to realize that they weren't exactly compatible. Yes, they loved each other, but they would end up killing each other before the year ends. It was a clean break and they remained good friends; in fact, Ron was now engaged to be married to a Junior Quidditch Correspondent at the Daily Prophet, Dawn Winspear.

Hermione wasn't also short of suitors. She was well-known, successful, good-looking, and intelligent with a fiery personality. But she wasn't the type to indulge herself in short term affairs, rather looking for a partner in life where he can keep up with her fast life and her temper. She thought she had found it with Oliver Wood – the man who dumped her about nine months ago after being together for the past four years.

Hermione had dropped a couple of books and some papers scattered around her as she was rushing to the administration office of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to drop them off for filing as she had overslept and was running late for her shift. Never mind that she was the healer-in-charge of the fourth floor; she hated wasting time while there are witches and wizards, young and old, who needed her attention since they were short on healers that season. And that was when a patient from the ground floor had helped her gather her stuff – it turned out to be her old Gryffindor housemate, four years ahead of her, Oliver Wood.

She apologized as he handed her a few escaped papers, squatting near her frame. "Well, if it isn't Hermione Granger," he said as soon as he had a good look on her face, giving her one of his famous brilliant smiles.

Hermione looked up from squatting on the floor for a few papers. "Oliver Wood," she greeted as she smiled back at him. It wasn't hard to do that considering the fact that he was such a handsome fellow. "It's been a long time."

He offered her a hand as he unfolded his tall, well-built frame. She blushed faintly as she placed her hand in his so he can pull her up. "Yes, indeed. About seven years?"

"I don't want to do the sums," she grinned. She took away her hand from his and hugged the books and papers to her chest. That was when she looked down at his attire; he was wearing one of the pajamas the hospital lends to stay-in patients. She frowned disapprovingly, her healer instincts taking over. "Mr. Wood, as a healer-in-charge in St. Mungo's, would you please explain to me why you're up and about seeing as you're a stay-in patient."

He grinned roguishly at her. "I was out to get some food and I'm fully healed, anyway. You can ask Healer Ansley."

"You could have called for your nurse. I'm sure she wouldn't mind asking a house elf to get you something to eat," Hermione pointed out. "I will most definitely ask Healer Ansley. Please go back to your room, I will send for a nurse."

"I wouldn't want to trouble a nurse for _some food_; that would be a bratty thing to do," he argued good-naturedly.

"Good point," she agreed, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm sorry I have to be get going. I have to get this to admin and I haven't started my rounds. It was good to see you, Oliver." She waved and turned on her heel.

"Well, hold on, Hermione," He called out. Soon he had caught up to her and he fell into step beside her. "You can't just leave like that."

"I know, I am being rude but I overslept so I'm late for my shift. I just came in," she explained. They were finally at the administration office and left the books and papers on the desk, smiling at Evangeline, the office assistant, who was smiling as well, not at her but at the man standing beside her.

Oliver was quite popular all over Europe as he is currently playing for Puddlemere United acting as team captain, Keeper, and not to mention the fact that he was handsome as sin. She remembered it clearly, that he was usually the topic in the girls' dormitory before he graduated. Hermione never really noticed him then; she was involved with other pressing matters with her good friends, Harry and Ron.

"I have to get to fourth floor," she said as they walked out from the administration office. "Go back to your room like a good patient." Hermione laughed, letting him know that she was teasing.

He smiled at her. "If you say so, Healer Granger. It was really good to see you. I'm being discharged in the afternoon. I'll come back tonight. What time does your shift end?"

That was a bit forward of him but she didn't really mind; she didn't really believe in playing hard to get. They were standing in front of the lifts now. Hermione turned to him and said, "Eight o'clock."

The doors opened suddenly and before she stepped in, Oliver grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it, looking into her eyes while doing so. "I'll see you later then." He let go, gently pushing her toward the lifts before turning around and going back to his room as instructed.

Oliver was indeed waiting for her at the end of shift but there had been an emergency and so she had to go back upstairs to treat a patient. She was shocked, to say the least, seeing him at the lobby, still waiting for her a little after eleven that night, still willing to take her to dinner. That was the start of their four-year steady relationship.

She and Oliver had a lot of similarities in personality and attitude. Both are smart, quick-witted, ambitious, driven and very hard working in accomplishing their goals. Both are quite passionate for their profession and also loyal to their beliefs.

But Oliver was right when he said their relationship had lacked passion. When they made love, it was satisfactory, Hermione thought, but there had to be something _more_. Of course she didn't tell him so. She wasn't exactly a woman of the world. Hermione wasn't looking for passion in a relationship – wasn't love and trust enough?

Apparently, it was not.

It had been a messy break-up. After a week, Oliver came back around saying sorry he had made a mistake, he missed her and he wants her back in his life. Hermione consented but then they had another big fight about something she couldn't even remember so they broke it off again, but this time he never did come back around.

She saw him two or three times just this past year and surprisingly, he smiled at her when they passed by each other and neither of them wanted to engage each other in conversation.

* * *

It had been three months since Draco Malfoy moved back to London. The reason why his family left was because the shame that fell upon them due to their wrong choices—or rather lack of choices—hadn't done his family good. They fell apart and his father fell into depression just a little over five years ago. After he died, his mother had followed a year later.

He had briefly visited his childhood home in Wiltshire, the Malfoy Manor, but it was still a wreck. Its once gloriously immaculate beauty was lost when Voldemort had used their home as his base of operations. But even if returned to its original state, he wouldn't want to live there now. There had been too many unpleasant recollections such as tortured witches and wizards. He witnessed more deaths in his dining table than during the Battle at Hogwarts.

It had taken Draco a lot of valor for him to move back here from Bulgaria. Draco knew he couldn't continue his life in Bulgaria where he felt that life was bleak. In Bulgaria, he had little friends. He had a few short-term relationships and the last one was Rayna Pavlina. An exotic dark-haired beauty with mysterious almond-shaped black eyes, natural pink pouty lips, an upturned nose that went with an equally gorgeous body. Their relationship didn't last for more than three months.

Draco waited until his position at the Durmstrang Institute teaching Potions was filled before he left Bulgaria. That was the only thing left that tied him down there. He abandoned the house his family had purchased upon arriving there and fled back to London where he easily managed a job in E. M. L. Potions Co. as the head potioneer that supplied potions and such to St. Mungo's and the Ministry of Magic. They also stocked the Slug & Jiggers Apothecary in Diagon Alley.

He now lived in a wonderfully spacious two bedroom duplex apartment. The apartment profits from panoramic views over Canary Wharf in East London. It was white all over but the interior design was impeccable, fashionable. He had bought it fully furnished from a muggle, whose client was a famous actor of some sorts in their world. It cost a quarter of a million in galleons (almost a million in muggle money) that hardly made a dent in his vault at Gringotts. It was a change he definitely needed after these depressive, bleak years in the secluded country house in Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria.

Presently, it was almost seven in the evening and Draco was brewing a simple Blood-Replenishing Potion.

Sitting a few feet from the giant cauldron, he was reading the Daily Prophet, an article under the Health section about the breakout of a virus known as Gigglepox that makes one break out in itchy boils and if broken, it will bleed profusely and weirdly enough makes one giggle uncontrollably. There was even an image of a teenager with the Gigglepox; the boils looked positively ghastly.

Disgusted at the image provided, he threw away the Daily Prophet and checked his cauldron. It was almost time to drop in the _crusoe_ and the crushed _shimon_. After that, very carefully, a single drop of _silver_ _vinique_.

Going through his massive stock of potion ingredients, he didn't notice that he had taken a vial of _kaixin_ rather than the _crusoe_.

_Kaixin_ was the venom found in a funnelweb red spider. Those creatures were endangered, found only in a very small country in East Asia—the Philippines. The venom does not poison but when mixed with _nettle—_which the Blood-Replenishing Potion consisted mostly of—proved to be very, very dangerous. If a large amount has been mixed, there would be a definite explosion and if the concoction touched one's skin, the affected areas would swell and discolor accompanied by vomiting and shortness of breath. Cold, clammy perspiration was usual. Soon, the fluid would find its way to the blood stream. The pulse becomes extremely feeble, and shortness of breath and restlessness may continue.

Whistling under his breath, Draco poured in a single drop of _silver_ _vinique_, stirred anti-clockwise three times, and added three measures of _shimon_. The dark yellow liquid glinted under the bright lights in his potions room. It was the exact same color of _crusoe_. He waved his wand. He opened uncorked the vial and emptied its contents.

He froze when he realized when the usual fragrant smell of the _crusoe_ didn't reach his nose. Instead an unpleasant smell filled the room quickly and looking down in his cauldron, instead of the red-colored Blood-Replenishing Potion, it was black and runny, and was staring to emit an amber-colored smoke.

"Hey, Malfoy, how's about a drink—" James Liebeck, the vice president of E. M. L. Potions Co. came in through the doorway. He and Draco had somewhat became friendly during his brief stay in the company. More than a handful of times, they found themselves grabbing a drink in The Leaky Cauldron.

"Get out!" Draco bellowed as he grabbed his wand and scrambled towards the door.

James saw the look on Draco's face and ran. Draco closed the door firmly behind them. He cast spells to secure the door and prevent the explosion to reach beyond the door. Seconds later, indeed there was an explosion.

But the spells were weak and the impact of the explosion reached beyond the door. James was unharmed. Draco was too slow and the last thing he felt was a burning and very painful sensation on his torso and arms; _'Welcome_ _back_, _Draco_ _Malfoy'_ was his last thought before he blacked out.

The other potioneers had left their respective potions room and assisted Draco immediately. A stretcher was conjured by James and soon they were on their way to St. Mungo's.

"We need Healer Fairfax _immediately_!" James announced frantically, upon arriving. Over the years he worked at E. M. L. Potions Co. there had been several accidents. Healer North Fairfax was the healer-in-charge of the third floor, specializing in potions and plant poisoning. Almost immediately, Healer Fairfax was by their side and guided the stretcher to a room.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't really know. I came into his potions room and he told me to get out. We ran and closed the door but the explosion was strong and it seeped through the doorway. He got a lot of liquid on him." James pointed towards Draco's stained robes with black liquid. He blanched when he saw Draco's arm which was swelling.

Healer Fairfax shooed him away and there were about five healers that appeared on his side, surrounding Draco's still form.

He waved his wand over him. "_Nettle, shimon, silver_ _vinique _and_ kaixin_," he said, shaking his head. He laid a hand on Draco's arm, it was cold and clammy but he was sweating profusely.

Draco's eyes suddenly popped open; they were bloodshot and then he started hyperventilating. Seconds later, blood ran down his nose and not long after, his entire body started shaking.

Healer Fairfax started murmuring incantations, waving his wand steadily. One of the young healers waved his wand to bind Draco's form against the bed. Another healer went to get fetch potions and antidotes. Another administered in divulging him of his stained robes. Minutes later, Draco stopped shaking and his nosebleed stopped. But Healer Fairfax had not yet relaxed as Draco's infected arm started to contract visibly.

A healer came back carrying a tray of various potions. He handed one to Healer Fairfax. He forcibly opened Draco's mouth and poured an entire vial in. The contracting stopped almost immediately. The young healer handed another one to Healer Fairfax and poured half a vial in his mouth. Draco's eyes closed.

Healer Fairfax grimaced. The affected areas on his torso were melting his skin and muscles, surely but thankfully, very slowly. He figured it would reach about 24 hours before it reached his inner muscles. "One of you, go get Healer Granger from the fourth floor."

A young lady healer who was monitoring the patient's vital statistics broke away from the group of healers and ran to fetch Healer Granger from the fourth floor. This was a very complicated case and she already knew Healer Fairfax would call on Healer Granger before long. She was one of the most brilliant healers in the world. She was the only healer living without losing a patient under her care.


	2. Chapter 2

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 2**

"My name is Hermione Granger. I have no time to tour you around the hospital but I can brief you. Ground floor is where the reception is, as well as the artifact accidents are treated such as broom crashes, cauldron explosions, etc. Healer-in-charge is Healer Blake Ansley. First floor is where creature-induced injuries are treated. Healer-in-charge is Healer Addison Colby. Second floor fixes magical bugs and diseases. Healer-in-charge is Healer Gail Fulton. Third floor fixes potions and plant poisoning and the healer-in-charge is Healer North Fairfax. I am the healer-in-charge for the fourth floor, we specialize in spell damage."

Hermione eyed the wide-eyed healer trainees staring up at her. "Questions? No? Good. You can go back to the ground floor and see which floor you are assigned. When you do, report to the healer-in-charge. In the meantime, you may assist in the Intensive Care Unit with the medi-witches and medi-wizards at the ground floor or Janus Thickey Ward, at the fourth floor. Besides that, you may also choose to use this morning as your free time. Cherish it. You won't get that a lot during your time here. _Just make sure that you don't get in the way of any healers. Are we clear?_"

With that, she turned on her heel to get her second cup of coffee for that day. Hermione sighed, bringing a hand to rub at her forehead. So maybe she lied. No free time? What a joke. She had been getting too much free time lately.

She entered the lifts and pressed the button on the fifth floor.

"Healer Granger!" A heavily accented woman's voice called out to her before the lifts closed. Hermione pressed another button to keep it from closing. She recognized the younger woman, Healer Fairfax's trainee, Deirdre Bronagh. A blonde, green-eyed perky woman, who always strike Hermione up in conversation whenever they pass each other by at the hallways or the lifts. From those brief conversations and her accent, she knew that she was Irish. "Healer Granger!" She called again.

Hermione bestowed Deirdre a dainty smile. "Hello, Deirdre," she said when the Irishwoman caught up to her.

"Hello, Healer Granger. Please, you must come immediately. Healer Fairfax asked for you. There's a critical patient in a very complicated case." Deirdre panted, her face flushed from her excursions.

Hermione sobered and started to walk briskly beside Deirdre. "Please brief me in on what has happened."

"There was a wrong ingredient added to a Blood-Replenishing Potion. Well, I figured it was a Blood-Replenishing Potion since his bloodstream contained the usual ingredients except for the _kaixin_."

Hermione blanched. "The Blood-Replenishing Potion requires a large amount of nettle, but when mixed with _kaixin_ could cause many, many problems. He could fall into comatose in a matter of minutes! It is similar to venom from a snake bite but there's also _shimon_ which makes the effects of _kaixin_ more severe." She stopped walking and turned to Deirdre. "I have read this about when I was about sixteen years old for some light reading in Hogwarts, you need to find about three vials of _sorcha_ to stop the infected areas from swelling and about five vials of _gormley _to keep his heart pumping on a steady, normal rate."

Deirdre stared up at her in awe.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused when the other healer merely looked at her. She snapped her fingers in front of Deirdre's face. "Go—go get the _sorcha _and _gormley_. We don't have much time!"

Deirdre snapped out of her reverie and ran to do Hermione's bidding.

Hermione turned the other way and into the emergency room. She spotted Healer Fairfax's tall form at the middle of the room and there were about four other healers surrounding the bed.

"Healer Fairfax," she greeted formally. "I have asked Deirdre to get _sorcha _and _gormley_. She has informed me of this man's case."

He nodded gratefully, lifting his eyes to look at the brilliant healer before him. "I haven't thought of that," he admitted. "He's stable now, but if I leave him for three minutes, his muscles will start to contract visibly and he will bleed from the nose and mouth profusely. I haven't had a case like this in my life. For the meantime I have given him a large amount of calming draught and _tarquin_ to keep his muscles from contracting."

She looked down at the patient and gasped in disbelief.

"He's in stable condition at the moment," Healer Fairfax said, misinterpreting Hermione's gasp.

"I know that man," Hermione said softly. She was sure of it. She could not mistake Draco Malfoy's face even after several years. He highly resembled his father, Lucius Malfoy, except his face was a bit softer. At present, he had lost all his color and he was unmoving as if he were dead.

"You do?"

She nodded. "I went to Hogwarts with him."

"Well, now we have to make sure he lives."

She nodded again. "I'll take over for you here," she offered softly.

Healer Fairfax shook his head. "He's my patient, I'm sorry."

She frowned. "Fine." She would find a way to help him somehow. The _sorcha_ and _gormley _were temporary remedies to the effects of the concoction. He needed something else…

Deirdre appeared a few minutes later carrying a tray of a number vials that contained the _sorcha_ and _gormley._

Hermione nodded towards Draco, indicating Deirdre to have the patient take it. "He needs it now, _gormley_ first before the other. Slowly now. We wouldn't want to burn his throat on top of everything else."

The younger woman proceeded to give Draco the medicine.

"I've been wrecking my brains out for the past several minutes what the antidote to _kaixin_ is," Healer Fairfax said quietly to Hermione. "I need your help in this, Healer Granger."

"I remember that _kaixin_ is the venom of the funnelweb red spider only found in Southeast Asia—more precisely in the Philippines," Hermione said, thoughtfully, oblivious to the older man's annoyed expression that clearly said 'tell me something I don't already know'. "There is a fifty percent chance that another antidote would come from there, as well," she concluded.

"I have thought of giving him a small dose of _wahankh_, a known remedy for spider venoms in Egypt. It is quite strong but perhaps it does not seem compatible with the effects of _kaixin_."

"_Wahankh_ might have helped for merely an hour. We need the _real_ antidote. I'm going to find the antidote," Hermione vowed. She looked around the healers gathered around the bed before she met Healer Fairfax's gaze. "It looks like you have a handle of things at the moment. I'll be back… in an hour or so."

Healer Fairfax nodded. He knew of Hermione Granger's determination and extensive patience for research. She also had a glint in her eye, indicating that she wouldn't stop at nothing until she found the cure to this young man's present state.

Hermione turned on her heel and walked out of the emergency room.

An hour later, she was in the hospital's private library, almost a hundred books scattered around her. This time, as she scanned the pages eagerly of a book about the exotic arachnids found in Asia.

It wasn't even long before she found the real cure to Draco Malfoy's current state. They've been looking at it the wrong way. He didn't need the antidote to the _kaixin_.

_Nettle_ was a widespread plant known for the stinging hairs that grows on its leaves. It could be found just about anywhere. But not in Southeast Asia—not in the Philippines—which was why the reason that the funnelweb red spiders reside there. They were allergic to _nettle_. The second _nettle_ touched their body they immediately emit a screeching sound as their non-harmful venom change into neurotoxic venom that would swiftly reach takeover its bloodstream until the creature died.

He needed _asha magday_.

_Nettle _recoils from _asha magdays_ that are actually an inflorescence of tiny flowers pressed together on a central stalk that is surrounded by a large petal-like bract. Very similar to a calla lilies, except it was black in color and they only grew not even an inch tall. Besides that, _asha magdays _were favorite eats of funnelweb red spiders and often remedies whatever ails them.

Hermione knew exactly where to get them—one of her best friends taught Herbology at Hogwarts and everyone knew that the Hogwarts greenhouses are home to many exotic and magical plants including some that are extremely rare, difficult to cultivate and maintain, or even dangerous. Not even hesitating for a second, she practically ran towards the St. Mungo's floo network and shouted her destination.

"Neville!" She yelled as soon as she set foot in the Herbology Professor's office. "Neville!"

"_What the hell is going on_?" Professor Neville Longbottom came crashing into the room from a doorway to her right. "Hermione! What happened? Are you alright?" He asked frantically, rushing toward her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said dismissively. "I need a lot of _asha magdays_. It's an emergency—I don't have much time."

"Hermione, please calm down," he said quietly. "Take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Good. Now I have about three dozen potted _asha magdays _at the greenhouse. Would that be enough?"

Slowly, she visibly relaxed. "More than enough. Neville, I-I'm sorry. But I have a critical patient and _I can't lose him_."

Neville grimaced as they started scrambled out of the room and started a quick jog towards the greenhouses. "No healer wants to lose a patient," he reminded her.

"Neville, it's Malfoy."

"It's—what?" His mouth fell open in shock.

"My patient—well, no, actually Malfoy is Healer Fairfax's patient but I am working with him on this case. Malfoy's been under observation for the past hour or so and he is in a very critical condition. No—he's on the brink of _death_ as we speak."

Neville knew that Hermione Granger was one of the most compassionate people he had ever known. Normal people wouldn't have bothered to go out of their way for someone they hated in the past.

Neville didn't know what to say to Hermione as she talked about Malfoy's possible death. He merely sped up his pace as they drew close the greenhouses. Conjuring a bag, he unearthed about two dozen _asha magdays_ and put them in the bag.

"Neville, thank you so much, for everything." She smiled at him, though it was half-hearted.

He smiled back tentatively. "It's no problem, Hermione. Now go save Malfoy's life."

She smiled, this time it was real and she apparated away right before his eyes.

* * *

Draco regained back his color within the next hour he had consumed about a dozen liquefied _asha magdays_. Its effects were slow but sure as they flowed through his bloodstream. He was still sleeping from the large dosage of the calming draught Healer Fairfax had given him, but his muscles hadn't contracted and blood seemed to circulate in its usual state without the help of the _gormley._ He was safe. He wasn't going to die.

The other healers had taken their leave from Draco's bed, tending to other patients in the emergency room. The ones left were Healer Fairfax, Healer Granger and Healer Trainee Deirdre.

Hermione stared fixedly at their patient. Deirdre was glancing back and forth between Hermione and the patient. Healer Fairfax was bent over Draco's still form, examining him delicately.

A moment later, he stepped away from the bed. "He's a lucky man," Healer Fairfax said, turning to Hermione. "Thanks to you."

"It's my job, Healer Fairfax." She smiled softly.

"You were brilliant, Healer Granger," Deirdre breathed in awe.

"Thank you, Deirdre."

A brown-haired tall man came inside the emergency room and walked briskly over to them. "Is he alright?" He demanded with preamble to Healer Fairfax.

The older man nodded. "He is in a stable condition now, James," he assured him and then he gestured towards Hermione with a hand. "It's all thanks to Healer Granger. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have…" he trailed off.

The younger man stepped forward and offered his hand to shake. "Thank you. James Liebeck, Draco here works for me. He's the best potioneer I've got. Brilliant man."

Hermione smiled at him as they shook hands. "Is he now? Hermione Granger," she offered and pointed to the younger woman standing beside her. "This is Healer Bronagh."

"Pleasure," he said as he shook hands with the last healer in his presence. "Now would someone please tell what went wrong?"

"Certainly," Healer Fairfax said. "We came to the conclusion that he was brewing Blood-Replenishing Potion as the ingredients to the simple potion were found in his affected areas. However, _kaixin _was found in his system. A harmless enough venom of the funnelweb red spider but when mixed with nettle, an ingredient found in the Blood-Replenishing Potion, becomes dangerous."

"He must have mixed up _kaixin _with _crusoe_. It's quite easy as they have the exact same color and liquid quality," Hermione added helpfully.

James nodded. "And how long until he will recover?"

"Two days tops," Hermione said cheerfully. "He'd be fit as a fiddle by then."

For the first time, James relaxed. "Good."

A groan was heard from the bed. James stepped forward to peer at him. "Welcome back, Malfoy."

"L-Liebeck?"

Draco's eyes opened gingerly and saw there were four people surrounding his bed—three of them were wearing lime green robes and one was his boss in his usual all-black business three-piece suit. His eyes squinted until they were focused particularly at the woman in lime green robes directly on the center of his line of vision. It was impossible to not recognize her—he had known her since he was eleven years old and her photograph was constantly present in the 'health' section of the Daily Prophet.

"Granger," he greeted tentatively.

"Malfoy," Hermione returned gently. "How do you feel?"

He grimaced fiercely.

"Guess that's about explains it," she concluded, amused. "If it's too uncomfortable I'll have Healer Bronagh give you a draught."

"Not yet. I—it's tolerable."

"You two know each other?" James asked, befuddled at their familiar exchange.

"We went to Hogwarts together," Draco clarified.

"Which reminds me, Malfoy—how could you have done something stupid as mistake _kaixin_ for _crusoe_? The strong fragrance of _crusoe_ is very prominent. Surely you must have noticed," she rebuked. "As a potioneer, surely you must have noticed."

If it weren't for his current condition, he could have throttled her. Instead, he only managed to roll his eyes. "Shut up, Granger. I noticed, but it was too late. I poured in a whole vial before I noticed—"

"A whole vial—!"

He glared at her.

"Something tells me they aren't exactly friends," Deirdre piped in.

"An understatement," Draco confirmed. "We were enemies of some sort."

"Adolescent stupidity and immaturity," Hermione supplied, pouting. "Throw in a little prejudice, arrogance and conceit. That's Malfoy."

"How about a bossy know-it-all and an eager _beaver_ in each and every class? That's Granger to you." Draco's words were discourteous but they were softened by his somewhat reminiscent half-smile.

Surprisingly, Hermione smiled at him—a full grin, together with laughing, bright eyes. She then turned to Healer Fairfax. "He's fully recovered I'd say."

"Clearly," Deirdre giggled.

"That's a relief then. Now may I go home and get some rest?" James said gruffly. "Malfoy, I don't want to see your face for the rest of the week. But next week, Monday, I shall see you promptly at nine o'clock in your potions room. Don't worry about it—we have restocked everything and brought in new equipment." He shook one by one the three healers' hands. "Thank you again." With that, he swept away from the room.

The healers turned towards back to Draco. "You should get some rest," Healer Fairfax advised. "Would you need a sleeping draught?"

Draco shook his head.

"We'll transfer you to a private room in the morning. You'll have to stay for at least two days," Hermione informed him. "For now, get some rest and we'll tend to your wounds tomorrow."

He didn't need to be told twice; the amount of potions and draughts in his system had left him very drowsy and somewhat fatigued. His little exchange with Hermione Granger had taken the very little energy he mustered. He was already asleep before the healers left him.


	3. Chapter 3

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 3**

"Good morning Mr. Malfoy!" A clear, cheerful voice said rather loudly from the now open doorway.

Draco sat up, rubbed his eyes. Finally.

He'd been awake for three hours with no activity, just lying there and staring up at the white ceiling of his private ward in St. Mungo's. He had spent it cursing himself at his own utter stupidity. There was no excuse for the accident! He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get a job to get back to.

But it was not like he needed a job—he didn't. Malfoys aren't even expected to work for a living, but rather they invest in stocks. He had no desire in involving himself in funny business such as dipping his fingers in politics, familiar himself with stock exchange both muggle and wizard, and he wouldn't dare to take place in the Ministry as a board of directors catering Hogwarts, and other things like his father had done and his father before that.

Tradition he had no desire to partake of. _The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. _He fancied himself as a completely reformed man—in terms of opinions and outlook on life.

The enchanted wall clock indicated it was eleven in the morning.

The owner of the voice came into view as she stood beside Draco's bed. "Don't move too much," she warned. Strawberry blond mane with streaks of gray hair was held up in a tight bun on top of her head. She looked about to be around forty years old, wearing a pair of glasses with a thick black frame that reminded Draco of his old Divination Professor, Professor Trelawny, and she was wearing the same robes the other healers were wearing.

"I try not to," he informed her.

"By the way, I'm Healer Ansley, I shall be treating your burns. Please lie back, so I can see the damage."

He lay on his back and opened his robe to reveal his injured torso.

"Oh. It's not as bad as I thought," Healer Ansley said in that (starting to become annoying) cheerful voice of hers again. "Second degree burns are easy as pie. I'll just go grab my equipment and we'll get you fixed in no time. Burns as big as this would leave scars, but with the special potions, it'll be back to the way it was... it'll take a while though. About a year." She left but she was back in less than a minute with a young man with dark brown hair and a face that was sprinkled with freckles; he was wearing the same type of robe as the other healers, only his was white.

"This is my trainee, Healer Sturgis. He'll be assisting me today," she introduced. At Draco's continued silence, she gestured towards Sturgis to rub potion on the affected areas.

Draco stared at the white ceiling straight ahead as they ministered to her. A tingling sensation went all over his torso and arms.

"You caused quite a stir yesterday, Mr. Malfoy," Healer Ansley said conversationally. "You have a number of healers running around St. Mungo's."

"I can imagine," he muttered in reply. "I realized my mistake before the explosion. I had time to get away and thankfully I was the only one affected by it."

"Healer Fairfax did a great job in keeping you stable before Healer Granger found the cure."

He fell silent. Healer Granger? Hermione Granger saved his life?

Healer Ansley continued to speak. "She had to go to Hogwarts to get the cure."

Hogwarts?

_Damn_. How was he supposed to face her now?

He recalled the times his arse being saved by Weasley, Potter and Granger. They had even participated in the trial, testifying _for_ him and _not against _him. He remembered the compassion in Granger's eyes, the sobriety in Potter's expression and Weasley's unmistakable gaze filled with what Draco could describe only as abhorrence as the case closed and his entire family saved from a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban.

Embarrassment filled his core as flashes of memories from adolescence flicked through his mind.

But then again, it was Granger's job, wasn't it? She's a resident healer for Merlin's sake! Comforted by that thought, he relaxed… and hoped that he wouldn't have to face her.

It wasn't like he wasn't grateful. He was. But… what would he say? Thank you for saving my life, Granger?

_Merlin_, yes he fancied himself as a reformed man but this—he couldn't do it! His pride wouldn't allow it.

And he didn't think that he and Granger could ever survive the awkwardness. There was too much history to act nonchalance. Yesterday didn't really count for he was kind of drugged with a number of draughts and potions. Come to think of it, he groaned out loud, he just called her a _beaver_, bossy, and a know-it-all!

"Are you hurting?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Healer Ansley.

He flushed as he realized he was lost in his thoughts. "No."

"Sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure," he muttered testily.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Healer Ansley teased. "I was just asking."

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Aren't you done yet?"

"No," she replied, unfazed by his attitude.

Just then, there was tap on the glass window. They all looked up to see a black owl. Draco frowned.

"Healer Sturgis, get that will you?" Healer Ansley instructed as she looked down to continue treating Draco's wounds. Quickly, the young man opened to let the owl enter.

Healer Sturgis took off the parchment attached to the owl's claws and closed the window back after the owl's flight. "I'll just leave it here. You read it after this."

Draco nodded. It was probably his boss, Liebeck. A few moments later, there was another tap. They looked up to see a brown owl this time. Wordlessly, Healer Sturgis came forward to get the letter again. Draco was curious by this time.

The trio was silent for at least fifteen minutes when there was an unexpected knock on the door.

Healer Sturgis opened the door a few inches. Draco heard him explain to whoever was at the door that they were treating his wounds and the patient was not to be disturbed.

He came back to Healer Ansley's side and said, "Well, the Daily Prophet is here again."

"What?!"

"Don't be so shocked," Healer Ansley said. "I told you earlier that your accident had caused quite the stir."

_Bloody hell!_

* * *

**FORMER DEATH EATHER, DRACO MALFOY, ALMOST DIED IN A POTIONS ACCIDENT **

**BY RITA SKEETER**

_Yesterday evening, an unfortunate accident happened upon the E. M. L. Potions Co. The head potioneer, Draco Malfoy, had mistakenly added the wrong ingredient to the potion causing an explosion. Only one person was hurt and it was he. Healers North Fairfax and Hermione Granger had declined to say anything in the matter but a source had said that it was the famous Hermione Granger, proclaimed one of the best healers in the world, to have found the antidote to the venom that flowed in Malfoy's bloodstream. It is reported that the only Malfoy heir was on the road to recovery. _

_Shocked? The whole wizarding world is! It was believed that the whole Malfoy family had died shortly after the death of the Dark Lord. Clearly, they weren't. Why? Where? When? We are all curious to know… (continued on page 8)_

* * *

It was two in the afternoon when Healers Ansley and Sturgis left his private ward. His wounds that were disgustingly red and blistering were now a little pink with mere clear blisters and blanches. The pressure and discomfort feeling was gone.

There was a tray of food on the small table a few feet away from his bed. He rose and sat there to eat.

He was annoyed… no, that was an understatement. He was very angry—partly at himself and mostly Rita Skeeter. That old hag! What irked him the most were the first three words of the article; it screamed at him, taunting him—_Draco Malfoy the Death Eater!_ The accident had alerted the Daily Prophet that was sure to appear in the 'health' section but someone in St. Mungo's had disclosed his name. It was now on the front page of the daily newspaper. _So much for keeping on the low-key, _he thought bitterly to himself.

The two letters he received via owl were from his old friends—Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson.

Theodore's message was very brief, merely stating, "_MALFOY, YOU BASTARD. I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD ALL THESE YEARS_." Along with that note was an invite to engagement party. Rather a celebration of _his_ engagement to Miss Juliet Morrasut.

This was a surprise to Draco. Theodore Nott was a loner and Draco didn't get to spend much time with him save for the time when both their fathers were thrown in Azkaban at the same time on the year of 1996.

Pansy's was endearing, albeit a little annoying. A very proud woman, Pansy Parkinson frequently displays a snobby and cold attitude, looking down upon others who she deemed was beneath her. He was one of the few unlucky blokes who had won her affections.

Her letter read, "_Dear Draco, I had always known you weren't dead as our other friends had believed. It's been too long since I've seen you. Where are you? Are you all right? Why did I have to hear about you in the Daily Prophet? Why didn't you write me? Have you been in the country all this time? I have so many questions that cannot be answered by a mere letter. I have to see you. Please write back. Love, Pansy"_

He didn't feel the need to reply immediately. Instead, he would rather show-up at Theodore's engagement party knowing that all or rather, what's left of his friends would be in attendance.

He ate little, having lost his appetite once he'd read the article. Even though the short article was true enough, the headline was still unsettling. He didn't want to be recognized as a Death Eater. What if he finally decided to get married and have a child? He was thirty years old after all. Not too long he would want a family of his own. Would he or she know him to be a Death Eater as well?

Shaking his head, he stood from his seat at the little dining table for two. He walked rather stiffly to the window, leaning against the wall to support himself. He was still a little weak.

The window pictured the very busy streets of Muggle London. The muggle cars jammed in traffic, a few muggle bicycles with their riders swerving to avoid the traffic; on the sidewalk were people walking their pets, running while wearing business suits and jogging looking sweaty.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his reverie. He turned to look at door as it opened to reveal the great Hermione Granger. He wasn't surprised. He was bound to face her sooner or later.

"Granger," he greeted as casually as he can, moving away from the window to stand beside his bed.

"Malfoy," she returned with a nod, standing a few feet from the other side of the bed. "I see you're mending well."

"Yes."

"Good," she murmured.

Draco eyed her warily as he opened his mouth, "Granger, I—"

"I was wondering—" she said at the same time.

They both stopped. "You go ahead," Draco offered.

"No, you."

He flushed a little bit and his eyes moved away from her face and to the wall past her shoulders. "I—ah, Granger, I wanted to—ah, thank you."

Hermione saw his embarrassment and took pity on him. She waved her hand dismissively, but there was a soft smile decorating her face. "Malfoy, it's what I do."

"Right," he muttered as he finally met her gaze again. "Please, sit down."

"I won't stay long," she replied, waving another dismissive hand. "I just wanted to see how you were. Healer Fairfax will come by later this afternoon. He'll run a couple of tests and we'll see if you can go home tomorrow morning. If not, we're keeping you here until Saturday morning at most."

He nodded, moving to sit on the bed. "I was hoping I can leave by this evening. But I guess that's too much to hope?"

She laughed. "No," she confirmed. "If I had my way, I'd keep you here for two weeks at least—" She stopped speaking, but then proceeded to ramble. "What I mean to say is—that in your condition—you should be under observation—it's a very complicated case, one we've never encountered before. I would like to delve deeper into it but—oh, never you mind." She huffed, turning a deep shade of red.

He merely smirked at her.

"Get some rest," she barked out before turning on her heel to walk out the door.

_How_ _odd_.

Shaking his head, he lay back in bed and fell asleep within minutes.

The next morning, Draco was discharged from St. Mungo's. It took a lot of bartering but in the end, he signed a waver releasing himself from the hospital despite the healers' advice. Fairfax was defeated. However, he heard that Granger was livid. The little Irish healer that worshipped the ground Granger walked on. Which was why he left so suddenly, to avoid Granger.

He wasn't scared. Far from it, in fact! But he had heard from a few healer trainees that she had grown quite a reputation in St. Mungo's as one of the most brilliant healers but she can be scary and was often rough with her trainees. No one wanted to be her trainee, except for the one who trailed after her like a lost puppy, Deidre Bronagh who was unfortunately training under Fairfax.

He was dreading Saturday night a tad. It had been a long, long time since he had last seen his friends (if they still considered him as a friend). And before he knew it, it was Saturday.


	4. Chapter 4

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 4**

Dutifully, he dressed in fine royal blue robes and he combed his short blonde hair, he shaved his 3-days old stubble.

It was past eight that evening when he arrived at the mansion where the Notts lived. Theodore Nott was standing alongside a young redhead with eyes the color of cornflower blue, a tilted-up nose and a genuinely sweet smile on her lovely full lips painted in red wearing a simple strapless cocktail dress that a few inches before her knees, black in color.

When Theo caught sight of him, he paled and ran to him. "What the bloody hell, Malfoy!" was his only greeting.

"Good to see you too, Nott," he muttered dryly.

Theo hesitated before he caught Draco in a brotherly embrace. It lasted not even two seconds before they stood there uncomfortably. "We really thought you were dead, you know," Theo said lowly.

"I know," Draco replied. "We can talk about it some other time. I'm eager to meet the woman you convinced to marry you."

Theo laughed and it was a surprise to Draco for his old friend's laugh was a rare treat to his family, much less to his friends. But then again, it's been a long time since he'd last seen him.

The redhead came forward to catch Theo's hand as she stood before the two tall men.

"Draco, this is my fiancé, Juliet Morrasut."

Draco took Juliet's hand in his to bestow a kiss on her knuckles before dropping it slowly. "Nice to meet you."

Juliet smiled at him. "Nice to meet you," she returned and then she giggled. "I have heard so much about you!"

He turned to raise an eyebrow at Theo. "You must have heard about my antics during our Hogwarts days."

Theo clapped Draco on the back, urging him inside the open doorway of the mansion. "The good old days, eh, chap? Come inside. Pansy's dying to see you!"

"Oh no."

The couple laughed good-naturedly.

Soft jazz music was flowing around the ballroom as he stepped inside. The floating candles were reminiscent of the Great Hall in Hogwarts as well as the enchanted ceiling that visualizes a starry night sky. There were a lot of people in attendance, probably a little more than fifty people.

The Notts were known for throwing the most extravagant parties amongst the pureblood families. Of course, back when they were younger, Draco, Theo, along with a couple of friends would escape to their immaculate garden to play Quidditch.

Looking around, he spotted his old friends from Hogwarts – Blaise Zabini, Marcus Flint, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and two other women he did not recognize. He strode towards them.

Pansy was the first one to notice him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, but when she overcame her shock, she smiled widely and stepped forward to meet him. "You're here," she exclaimed laughingly and always affectionate, she threw herself in his arms.

Despite himself, he laughed and hugged her back. "Pansy, it's good to see you."

Blaise and Marcus shook hands with him. "I thought Theo was just pulling our leg," Blaise said.

Draco shook his head.

"I went by to the Malfoy Manor about five years ago but it was abandoned," Marcus said.

"I—ah, my family moved to Bulgaria not long after the war."

"Where do you live now?" Marcus asked.

"I'm staying in London, at Cornerstone Apartments," he replied.

"How come I never see you there? My boyfriend lives on the sixth floor. I'm around all the time," Daphne piped in, blushing a bit.

"I got the penthouse apartment over there," Draco replied to Daphne. "Come over some time and we'll have some tea."

An hour had passed, the group of friends still conversing, updating each other on what's going on with their lives. Mostly Draco because he was the only one who was out of touch all these years. They were joined by Theo and Juliet eventually. Draco was also introduced to the two other women he didn't know; one was Blaise's wife, Roslynn and the other was Serena St. Jules.

Pansy pulled him aside from the group. "Draco, we need to talk," she hissed.

He sighed dramatically. "If we must."

"Don't tease me," she said, a frown creasing her face. "I missed you, you dolt. You didn't have to hide from me."

Draco shrugged half-heartedly. "You have to understand that it was something my parents and I had to do."

She nodded not quite understanding but accepting. "It's all in the past now. But I'm hoping to see more of you this time. Promise me."

He shifted uncomfortably. Was she thinking of getting back together with him? "Err—Pansy, I'm not sure—"

"Oh!" She laughed suddenly. "I didn't mean the way it sounded. I just meant that I wouldn't want you to be so much on your own these days."

He relaxed visibly. "You're a good friend, Pansy."

Her demeanor changed and she was the old Pansy he used to know. She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, well, don't get used to it."

Draco excused himself as Pansy joined Daphne and Serena in conversation to get a glass of champagne on the other side of the room.

* * *

"For some reason, I'm not surprised to see you here," a familiar voice said from behind him.

Draco turned away from the table that held the beverages and towards the speaker. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Granger," he drawled. "I'm surprised. Very surprised, in fact."

Unable to stop himself, he took in Hermione's elegant side swept tamed brown mane, her tastefully done makeup, and that – dress! It was moderately cut on the chest part of cream-colored satin that flowed freely down to her ankles, showing off her slim frame, accenting the curves. She was balanced on her right leg, showing a slit that reached up to a few inches above her knees. His eyebrows shot to his hairline. _Wow_.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably, aware that he was checking her out.

"You look lovely," Draco said casually as he handed her a flute of champagne and she accepted with shaky fingers.

Stunned, she stammered, "T-thank you."

"You're welcome," he nodded. "I didn't know you were friends with Theo."

"I'm not," Hermione said. "Juliet invited me. I was shocked to say the least, when I found out that she just got engaged to Theodore Nott. They've been dating for only nine months, you know."

He looked around the room. "Where's your date, Granger?"

"I came alone. Where's yours?"

"I came alone," Draco echoed. "Well, you know what this means, don't you?"

"No. What?" She asked, confused.

"We're both dateless, so it's natural we stick together."

Hermione was surprised, but she laughed. "That's a stupid logic, Malfoy."

A couple of hours later, she found herself in Draco Malfoy's company for the rest of the night. They drank champagne, talked about a bit of each other's work, shared a big plate of random desserts, and made fun of the other attendees of the party.

"Look at that Granger," he gestured towards a bystander; she was wearing a lacy but puffy black dress, with half of her bosom sticking out, her makeup was ridiculously thick and heavy, her chunky pink heels mismatched with her dress. "Did you think she forgot to look in the mirror before she left for the party?"

"Malfoy," she scolded, but she burst out laughing.

He grinned. "I feel so sorry for whoever her date is."

"How can you be sure she has a date?"

"Look at the west most corner of the room. There—there, do you see him? He's hiding from her. Look, she finally saw him! Oh, the expression on his face is priceless!"

"He looks like he's about to cry!"

They hooted clutching each other for support, cradling their glasses of champagne, oblivious to several onlookers. At the other end of the room, Draco's friends were gaping at him with a certain brunette. "Are my eyes deceiving me?" Pansy said, her eyes bulging.

"Is that _Hermione_ _Granger_?" Marcus asked incredulously.

"I do believe so, yes," Blaise confirmed.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Daphne asked, frowning.

"She's a good friend of mine. I invited her," Juliet answered Daphne. "What's wrong?" She turned to Theo, who was also gaping at the pair.

"We went to Hogwarts with her. She and Draco didn't really get along."

Juliet frowned, still confused.

"That would be the understatement of the century," Pansy muttered. "Actually, Juliet, you know that blood status was a big issue before the war. We, purebloods, were brought up to think that half-bloods and muggleborns are abominations in the society and for other purebloods that associate with them are called blood traitors. Granger is a muggleborn. Draco delighted in calling Hermione Granger a 'mudblood', every chance he gets."

"Clearly – he's changed." Juliet looked pleased.

"Clearly," Pansy echoed, but she didn't look as pleased.

"Granger had her moments too," Blaise said. "She punched him right in the nose one time."

"Really," Juliet gasped, chuckling softly. "I've known Hermione for years but I can't imagine her being violent. She's the most even-tempered person I've ever known."

The former Slytherins exchanged knowing glances.

On the other side, Draco and Hermione were walking around the ballroom towards the open doors that led to the gardens. The night was cool, the view was spectacular, the garden lights glittered glamorously, and the flowers gave off a fragrance that made Hermione feel like she was in dreamland. Down the steps they went, to stand near the immaculate pool. There were other people there mingling as well.

She can picture herself clad in her favorite pair of swimming costume on a sunny day lying on a reclining chair, reading a book, with a cool, tropical fruit drink beside her. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the last time she was on a beach.

"What a beautiful garden," Hermione commented, breaking the silence between her and her companion.

He nodded in agreement. "Theo's mother is a green thumb. Have you met her?"

"Not yet," she replied. "But I've seen her prancing around in her ball gown."

Draco chuckled. "She loves throwing parties like these. My family never missed one. Theo and I usually hide behind the house, playing Quidditch if we're not stuffing our face with food."

Hermione gestured toward a stone bench near the pool and they walked over to sit. She noticed that their glasses were empty and she frowned.

"I'll go get us more drinks," Draco offered. He took her empty glass and walked briskly back inside.

Hermione turned to stare at the reflection of the glittering lights in the people and assessed the ridiculousness of her situation_. I can't believe I've been spending my time with Malfoy and I'm having a great time. Harry and Ron would probably think I'm mental when I tell them. Am I friends with Malfoy now?_ She wondered. _They must be. What else is there? I'm not particularly repressed not to notice how attractive he is wearing those dress robes but I highly doubt that we'll ever go down that road. I wonder if Malfoy's friends had seen us drinking together. They must be getting ready to take him to St. Mungo's._

She was laughing quietly to herself when a man suddenly appeared and sat beside her on the beach. He was of average height, around 5'8", he was sporting a scruffy hairdo, a full beard, and he was a bit overweight.

Hermione glared at the unwelcome intrusion, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Hi, beautiful," He slurred.

Obviously, he was drunk. "Hi," Hermione replied, edging away.

"I'm Jonny." He put his arm around her.

"Great," she said, removing his arm.

"I've been looking all over for you, love."

"Why? Have we met?"

"Only in my dreams."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stood abruptly but Jonny grabbed her hand and got up, too. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you." She managed to remove his hold on her hand but he caught up with her and slipped his arm around her shoulders again. She ducked and pushed him into the pool. She stepped backward to avoid getting her dress wet.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Draco said from behind her and he handed her both glasses of champagne. They watched as Jonny struggled to find the surface. "I was about to rescue you."

She shook her head. "Is he going to drown?"

"Give him a chance. He'll find the way up soon."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then I'll help him. See, here he comes now." Jonny broke sputtering through the surface of the water. Draco sat on his heels by the edge of the pool. "Alright there?" Draco asked.

The other man ignored him. When he caught his breath, he looked at Hermione. "_You_ _miserable_ _bi_—"

Draco pushed his head back under the water roughly. He walked back to where Hermione was standing, smiling at him. He grabbed his glass of champagne and wordlessly, they proceeded to go back to the ballroom.

"Hermione," Juliet's melodious voice called as she was walking hand in hand with her fiancé towards them. "Hello there, Draco."

"Hello," Hermione and Draco chorused.

"I was wondering where you wandered off to, Draco," Theo said with a side along glance at Hermione.

"I've been with Granger," Draco said without preamble.

"I haven't seen you for years and you abandon me," Theo said.

Draco put his hand over his heart. "Oh, Theodore," he sighed dramatically, making the girls giggle. "I love you too, Theodore."

Theo looked like he was about to get sick. "Sod off, Malfoy."

Juliet pulled Hermione over to the side while the two men engaged in conversation. "I'm glad you came, Hermione. I hope you're having a good time," Juliet told her.

"Oh, I am," Hermione assured the other girl. "It's a great party, by the way. The place is incredible. The ceiling is my favorite part." She pointed upwards.

"Me too," Juliet gushed. "It was Theo's mother's idea. She planned the whole party. She's brilliant! Theo loved it, too. He said it reminded him of Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "The Great Hall."

"Speaking of Hogwarts, dear, the others told me that you and Draco hated each other's guts back then."

Hermione grinned. "He never fails to make disparaging remarks about me and my friends. He was the most pompous git in all of Hogwarts. Not to mention he was a trouble maker, a bully and a big pain in the arse."

"I can hear you, Granger," Draco said loudly. "If I do recall, you were a pain in the arse as well!"

She shook her head at him. "Shut up, ferret boy."

Theo guffawed.

* * *

It was after a little after two that night when the crowd started to dissipate. The newly engaged couple had stayed and spent most of their evening with Hermione and Draco. Later, the other former Slytherins had joined their group as well, reminiscing about the old days which Hermione found uncomfortable as the others laughed. She felt out of place, speaking only when spoken to, especially when Juliet and Theo broke away from the group so they can escort their guests out of the ballroom. She can't help but wonder if the others were doing it on purpose.

Hermione glanced at her gold watch and saw it was almost three in the morning. She frowned; she hadn't meant to stay that long. In fact, she remembered telling Juliet that she would have left before midnight strikes.

Turning back to the conversation, Pansy was sharing a story when she and Blaise had planted cockroach clusters all over Malfoy's bed when he was sleeping or something the other. She wasn't really listening now while the others laughed in reminiscence. Hermione decided that it was time for her departure.

"Ah, Malfoy," she said softly as she tugged on his sleeve. "I'm leaving."

Draco turned to her and nodded. "Let me walk you out," he offered.

"That's not necessary," she said, faintly blushing. "You stay here with your friends." Ignoring his protests, she broke away from the group quietly and no one seemed to notice.

"My dear, Juliet, I must go," Hermione said as she hugged her friend of several years. "Congratulations. I hope he makes you happy."

"He does," Juliet whispered as she hugged Hermione back. "He does."

Hermione smiled, satisfied. She turned to Theo, who was standing beside Juliet. "If she comes crying to me, Nott, Merlin help you. I will hex you into the next century and make you come crying to your mother. I mean it." Theo laughed and clasped Hermione's outstretched hand to shake, very aware of this witch who had been recognized as the "brightest witch of her age" and also as an "exceptional duelist for a girl".

She walked slowly, savoring in the cool air of dawn, the natural fragrance of the different kinds of flowers that framed the walkway, and the onyx sky that was glittered by millions of stars. Hermione lived in the busy streets of Muggle London, full of artificial lights, tall buildings and somewhat air pollution due to the many types of transportation compared the country's clean air. Maybe someday…

"You don't think I'm letting you off that easy, do you?" A deep voice interrupted her serene thoughts.

Without warning, Draco had caught up with her halfway through the long walkway that led back to the immaculate gates of the Nott residence. Surprised, Hermione stopped midstride and turned to her former school enemy who had gone out of his way for her. "What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked, smiling slightly to soften her words.

Muttering about women being so suspicious and distrustful, he took her arm to urge to start walking again. Soon, they were walking in a slow pace and he released her arm. "Are we friends, Granger?" He asked, suddenly.

She pondered over it for a moment. "I guess we are, Malfoy."


	5. Chapter 5

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 5**

"Malfoy?" Hermione's old friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley chorused in astonishment and disbelief.

"Malfoy," she confirmed, laughing at their comical expression as they reminded them of when they were teenagers.

Two weeks had passed after the Juliet's engagement to Theodore Nott had been celebrated. Malfoy had indeed walked her outside the gates, to the apparition point. Hermione had thought he had intentions, despite the fact that they called each other 'friends' but it turned out simply another round of a bit of laughter ending with his promise of writing to her so they could meet some time for lunch. So far, she hadn't heard from him yet.

The three friends were gathered in Harry Potter's home one Sunday afternoon; in the dining room, they were having tea while munching on different pastries and treats. Usually Ginny joined them but she was at the Burrow, helping out her mother, Molly, along with the other wives of the Weasley brothers, for the preparation of Arthur Weasley's birthday dinner party.

"Bloody hell," Ron wheezed out. "You and him, friends?"

Hermione winced, knowing Ron would probably the one who would take this the hardest. "Yes. Err, kind of. He was completely a different person from the Draco Malfoy we used to know. But then again, it's been thirteen years since the trials."

"He must be up to something," Ron muttered darkly.

"Ronald," Hermione rebuked. "Honestly."

"Guys," Harry said soberly. "Forgive me if I never told you about this, but Malfoy wrote to me many years ago."

"What?!"

"He wrote you?"

Harry nodded as he stood up from his seat suddenly. "I kept it with me. It's in my study. I'll go get it."

* * *

_Harry Potter,_

_Thank you wouldn't be enough to express my gratitude. An apology wouldn't be enough to express my remorse and regret. If it hadn't been for you, Granger and Weasley, my family and I would be in Azkaban. Consider it cowardice on my part; blame it on my poor upbringing. It took a while for me to realize that I was standing up for the wrong side. Professor Dumbledore had made me see that, but it was too late. You must know that I continue to grieve for him. My family and I will be leaving, hopefully for good, to Bulgaria. We couldn't face the shame from our wrong choices. I hope you live the life you deserve, Potter, you and your friends. _

_ Draco Malfoy_

* * *

"The _usual yogurtlu kiymali makarna_ for the lady, heavy on the yogurt," the grinning man with a burly physique, sporting a full beard, announced. He has an exhaustible enthusiasm for his job. "And the usual _Istanbul pilavi _for the gentleman. Here is the sutlac and baklava." The waiter, Al, had always been the one to serve Hermione and Draco on their usual place beside the window, in that small Turkish restaurant just about ten minutes' walk from St. Mungo's. It was their favorite restaurant on the block.

It had been over two months when Draco and Hermione started seeing each other regularly. They fell into a steady platonic relationship, more on companionship. It had been easier for her to accept their newfound friendship ever since Harry decided to show them the letter. It was simple, forthright and sincere. Hermione never mentioned this to Draco though and she always wondered why he came back. Since he never brought up the topic, she decided she would wait until he decided to share it with her, if he decided to.

Draco eyed the mouth-watering feast in front of him. It was three in the afternoon and they were only now having lunch. They were supposed to go out around eleven that morning but she had been delayed during an operatic procedure on the fourth floor and Draco opted to wait for her.

"Thank you. This looks great, Al," Hermione said as she felt her stomach rumbled quietly.

"You're welcome. We aim to please," came the cheerful response and then he tilted his head to one side. "I know this is entirely none of my business – but do you ever eat anything besides this?"

"Of course," Draco said easily. "When we go out for Chinese, I get _xi__ǎ__ol__ó__ngb__ā__o _and she gets _chorizo_ _with chao fan_." He smirked.

"And we sometimes split an order of fish fillet in sweet and sour sauce," Hermione added.

"You mean you know what you like and you stick to it."

"Basically," Draco said.

"At least as far as food goes," Hermione qualified.

Al considered this for a few seconds, glancing back and forth between Hermione and Draco. "Do you guys want anything else? _Cacik?_ More iced tea?" He asked good-naturedly.

Draco shook his head, picking up his fork. "I'm fine for now."

"Me too," Hermione harmonized.

"Alright then. Enjoy your meal."

Draco dug into his food with gusto, shutting the world out, focusing only on getting his stomach full, having not eaten anything for seven hours. Hermione ate leisurely, mostly studying her companion. It had been exactly a week after she had told her friends about Juliet's engagement party when Draco sent her a brief message to meet at the fifth floor, the visitor's lounge and tea room, of St. Mungo's. During their brief meeting, they had small talk about work and schedules. They had lunch the next day and pretty soon, their lunches out were pretty regular. Sometimes when they both worked late, they'll order some Chinese and head over to the fifth floor.

Draco told her about his time in Bulgaria and his parents' death, even if it was a touchy subject. He also told her about his job teaching Potions in Durmstrang, his lack of social life, and some Bulgarian girl named Rayna he left hanging, but he had not told her yet about why he came back to London.

In turn, Hermione had told him about how her life had finally started to settle on a slow pace after the war. She told him she went back to Hogwarts to finish her N.E.W.T.s and proceeded to train as a healer for an extended three more years specializing on 'spell damage'. She also told him about Harry and Ginny had settled into family life immediately once Ginny had graduated from Hogwarts, Ron was planning his wedding with a girl named Dawn Winspear, Neville had taken over Herbology in Hogwarts, her ex-boyfriend Oliver Wood, and Luna's marriage to Rolf Scamander, etc. Even though he did input some colorful comments, none were offensive.

"Serena asked me out," Draco said casually, taking a sip from his iced tea.

Hermione took a sip from her drink as well, a frown creasing her face. "Who?"

"Serena St. Jules, the girl we met at Nott's engagement party?"

She tilted her head on one side.

"The blond who was attached at the hip with Pansy and Daphne." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, that girl." Hermione remembered the girl in that daring red dress; she looked like a sex symbol, with those wide blue seemingly innocent blue eyes, her perfect golden coiffure, her hour glass figure. She disliked her immensely. She knew she was being unfair considering the fact that she hadn't been able to speak a single word to the woman, but it was women's nature hating other women who they think look better than their selves. Personally, she didn't think that Draco would want to be with a woman like that. Contrary to popular belief, Draco Malfoy was actually a conservative man and he deserved someone who was more… respectable, more demure perhaps?

"Yeah, that girl," he echoed dryly. "So?"

"So what?"

"Do you think I should go?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I don't know," he admitted. "What do you think of her?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, forking a piece of baklava and stuffing it in her mouth.

"You don't think I should?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Before she could say anything he added, "Albeit I'm a bit surprised with her invitation. Call me old-fashioned but I'm not used to women asking me out on dates. I think I'm a little out of practice." He chuckled.

"Go for it," she said, forcing a smile on her face.

Draco stared at her for a short moment. "Yeah, yeah. I think I will," he said decisively. "Nott's been bugging me lately to 'meet new people'. Just because he's getting married, he thinks everyone else should, too." He paused, thoughtful. "Do you want to get married?"

She shrugged. "I suppose so," she muttered. "But it's not one of my top priorities right now."

"Yes," he agreed, nodding. "And your healer duties overtake your life."

Hermione bit her lip and just nodded. The truth was her healer duties weren't as demanding as she had made it out to be. She had enough healers running the fourth floor to handle three hundred patients a day. In fact, she can take off for two weeks and they wouldn't even miss her. Come to think of it, she hadn't taken a vacation leave for more than a year. Maybe she should take a break, go abroad or go to the beach, get a tan and 'meet new people'. Her hand lifted up to play with her necklace—a simple gold necklace with rubies embedded; it had been a gift from her parents upon graduation in Hogwarts—this had been a mannerism when she was thinking deeply.

Draco's gaze drifted down to where her fingers were playing with the pendant of her necklace. Suddenly, his throat felt constricted and he had a difficult time swallowing the piece of dessert he had been chewing as his gaze dropped lower unintentionally. She seemed to be doing that a lot whenever she was thinking deeply._ Probably making life decisions as of the moment_, he concluded.

Many a time while they were at the fifth floor of St. Mungo's, the other healers-in-charge joined them for a cup of tea and sandwiches. He noticed that Healer Fairfax had also been aware of this particular habit.

Back and forth, back and forth.

Hermione had less vanity than any other female he knew. Of that, he was sure, but that wasn't to say that she knows how and when to look good. Although he had managed to keep his thoughts on a platonic level most of the time, there are moments where this girl would give him a heart attack—to put it simply. _She doesn't know how appealing she is_, he realized. Her features were a little asymmetrical to be classified as the so-called classic and a little too strong to be classified as "cute". But there's something about her that was enough to tempt even conservative middle-aged men.

"Why are you staring at me?" She demanded suddenly.

He opened his mouth and after a moment, he closed it.

"Yes?" She pressed.

"You, uh, have a-a little—" He lied, stammering, pointing to the corner of her mouth.

She laughed at herself and then her pink tongue darted out lick at the spot he had pointed to.

Draco felt as if he was going to have a heart attack.

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me," Draco said for the fifth time that evening as they finally found their seats in the crowded, noisy stadium. "I can't believe she cancelled out on our date!"

Hermione didn't blame Serena St. Jules. Though she doesn't mind watching a Quidditch game, she wouldn't want to watch one for a first date. "Me, too," she said sarcastically. "I'd really like to watch a game between Chudley Canons and Puddlemere United for a first date."

"Granger! I got the best seats in the entire stadium!"

She sent a glare in his direction. "Do you peg Serena St. Jules as the type who would enjoy a good game of Quidditch?"

Draco blushed faintly. "No."

She sighed and leaned against his shoulder, a familiar comforting gesture. "Next time, opt for a dinner at a fancy restaurant, okay?"

He pushed gently against her. "Whatever, Granger," he said resentfully.

She laughed and stood up from their seat as the teams were being introduced. Draco stood up too, cheering along with the crowd. The players on both teams were circling around the stadium. She caught her ex-boyfriend, Oliver's gaze as he passed by their seats and she caught his look of surprise. She waved and he waved back. She knew most of players of Puddlemere United and so she waved to them as well when she caught their gazes. A long moment later, the quaffle has been released and the game began, thus preventing any more conversation between the two friends.

Two hours later, the game concluded and Puddlemere United was declared the winner. Hermione cheered and Draco was cursing for he was rooting for the other team.

"I'm starving!" Hermione said. "Come on, dinner's on me."

Draco grinned in delight. "Only if I get to choose where we'll eat."

To Hermione's surprise, he took her to a casual diner just across the stadium. It was owned by a wizard but they serve muggle food – particularly pizza and pasta. The restaurant was moderately crowded. Mostly couples with children were eating there. The restaurant, Carlyle's, held a very homely and casual ambience.

"I never knew you were fond of muggle food."

He rolled his eyes at her as they slid inside a medium-sized booth. "There's no restaurant in town that doesn't serve muggle food these days."

"Sure there is – Bascombe Bistro, Castleton Café, Mayhew's –"

"Yes, okay, I like pizza," he cut her off, annoyed. "Particularly the Sicilian Special. What would you like?" He asked her in a softer tone.

"Sicilian's fine," she concurred, already used to his recurrent mood swings. "And a large cold butterbeer."

The waiter came and took their order. When he went away, they conversed about the game that had passed. It amused Hermione the way Draco passionately, animatedly spoke of the moves, the fouls, the technical parts of Quidditch she never bothered to learn about. She merely knew the basics but she continued to humor him, vaguely reminding her of the Hogwarts days when Harry, Ron and Ginny had played for Gryffindor.

Suddenly, a loud cheer went throughout the restaurant. A few members of the Puddlemere United had just entered the restaurant – including her ex-boyfriend, Oliver Wood, she realized, and as if sensing her gaze on him, he turned his head toward her and they locked glances. Her eyes widened a fraction as he started for their table on the far end corner of the room. How he saw her shared table with Draco, she wouldn't know.

Draco sneered as Hermione stood to greet Oliver. He was obviously still pissed off at the results of the game.

"Hermione, it's good to see you." Oliver flashed his famous smile at her and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

She smiled faintly, not particularly agreeing with his sentiments. "You remember Draco Malfoy, don't you?"

Oliver glanced behind her shoulder, seeing Draco for the first time. "Malfoy. Of course," he said wryly.

Draco nodded curtly. "Wood." He remained in his seat.

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. Men. "Anyway, congratulations for winning the game."

Oliver beamed. "Thank you. It was a shock to see you there in the crowds. I wish you told me you were coming."

"I didn't know I was coming until this morning. Draco surprised me."

The older man raised an eyebrow at her, calculating her relationship with Draco Malfoy. He glanced back at the blond and saw his scowl as he looked at the other direction. "Are you two—?"

She laughed. "No, no. Of course not. He's my friend."

"Oh, good. I thought that…"

Draco tuned out the former flame's conversation, falling deep in thought. He studied her shining eyes, her easy movement and her smile that broke with open laughter at some sally of Wood's. Wood threw back his laughter which irked Draco greatly. His glance shifted towards Hermione's hand where it laid casually on the other man's arm. Wood then leaned to whisper in Hermione's ear.

Draco released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. _I'm jealous_, he realized in shock. Jealousy implied some claim of her on his part. _How can that be? We're just friends._ He knew he should look away. He also knew he couldn't.

He caught bits of their conversation as it concluded. Oliver Wood leaned down again to kiss her – on the lips! Draco was sure of it! The nerve of that pillock! The sudden urge to hit something – anything – was very strong. Hermione turned her head the other way the last minute and his kiss landed on her left cheek. Draco saw the other man's lips purse before he glanced over her shoulder and nodded curtly at him. He turned on his heel and strode towards the table his teammates were occupying.

"Cozy," Draco couldn't help saying rather bitingly.

Hermione was prevented from saying retaliation due to their waiter suddenly appearing with their food. Whatever Hermione was going to say, it was forgotten. Both were lost in their own thoughts as they ate their pizza; Hermione, confused with Oliver's affectionate kisses, whispered in her ear that he missed her and expressing deep concern for her whilst in the company of a git called Malfoy, he had said.

Draco, confused with himself for the way he felt while seeing his friend with her injudicious incompetent has-been of an ex-boyfriend.


	6. Chapter 6

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 6**

Hermione hadn't heard from Draco in almost two weeks. _H_ow _odd_, she thought as she made her way through the halls of St. Mungo's and to her office, which she rarely used. The last time she had seen him was the night they watched the Quidditch game between the Puddlemere United and Chudley Canons. She had to admit she'd been bad company after Oliver came over to talk to her. But she and Draco were grinning at each other when they separately apparated to their respective homes_. Should I go to his office—? That might be a bad idea, she amended. He's_ probably busy and he has other friends, she chided herself.

It had been merely a little over three months, but she felt comfortable around him, like they were friends since they were in diapers. She collapsed on her barely used office chair. What was wrong with her? Why does she feel like she was… sad?

_Surely not!_

Shaking her head, she went through the pile of letters she received the past three days on top of her also barely used office table. All of them were invitations to seminars all over the world, and a couple of charity events. She thought about going to both, but she didn't have anyone to bring. I could bring Malfoy—stop it, Hermione. Since when did you need a date for these events? Before Oliver, you had no problem going alone. With that in mind, she sent her replies, confirming that she would be attending the two charity events due this month and three seminars, one in London, one in New England, America and one in Vaduz, Liechtenstein that were all due at the end of the week.

Later that evening, she was having dinner over at the Potter's residence with Harry, Ginny, Ron and his fiancée, Dawn. She had been accustomed to being a "fifth wheel" and they were all so close to each other that she had never felt uncomfortable. There are times she had thought about bringing Draco along but she knew that he was civil with her friends, their schoolboy enmity made sure that he would never truly become friends with Harry and Ron, unlike her. She called it "male pride".

"Gin, this is great. You're as good as Molly!" Hermione exclaimed after swallowing a mouthful of roast beef that seemed to melt into her mouth, the gravy was so luscious and the mashed potatoes on the side went down with no difficulty. "I couldn't cook even if my life depended on it!"

Ron echoed her sentiments through a mouthful of food. The others shook their heads at him. Some things never change, Hermione thought fondly, openly smiling at her friends of around twenty years.

"What are you grinning about?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Probably thinking about Malfoy," Ginny teased, chuckling.

"Ginevra Potter! I'm not—you—oh!" Hermione stuttered. "If you must know, I was thinking about us," she said hotly.

Harry laughed with his wife. "What's got your wand in a knot, Hermione Jean Granger? She was just teasing. How's Malfoy, by the way?"

"Who cares," Ron put in loudly and was promptly pinched on the arm by his fiancée. "Ouch! Dawn!" He hissed.

"And who is this Malfoy?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Malfoy is Hermione's boyfriend," Ginny answered, laughter still in her eyes.

"Honestly! Are we teenagers?" Hermione rolled her eyes, but despite herself, she laughed. "Draco Malfoy—my boyfriend? That's a laugh!"

Ron shuddered visibly. "Yuck."

"He's not that bad, Ronald Weasley. If you just give him a chance…"

"Here we go again."

"Shut up, Harry."

"He still calls you Granger for Merlin's sake!"

"And I still call him Malfoy."

"Ugh."

"What a git!"

"I don't know why I even bother…"

"We already went through this…"

"Guys, please…"

"They're at it again," Dawn said to Ginny in a stage whisper.

"Still not used to it, eh?" Ginny grinned. "They've been bickering like that since 1991. A little advice, dear Dawn, it's best to stay silent during their squabbles."

Dawn stared at the three old friends; Ron's eyes were fixed on his plate, muttering under his breath but there were a few distinct words such as "ferret", "evil Slytherin" and "pompous". Harry was silent, looking back and forth between Ron and Hermione. Hermione was glaring at Ron.

Harry cleared his throat. "Uh, Hermione, I bumped into Viktor Krum yesterday at Diagon Alley. He's asking about you."

"Yeah?" Hermione said, lifting her gaze away from Ron. "Did he say why?"

"I think he said something about catching up. He'll be in town until next week."

"Thanks. I'll write him."

Ginny smiled softly. "Ah. I remember the Yule Ball like it was just yesterday."

"Ginny," Harry warned.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Ron, Hermione, make peace. Now let's eat some pie."

At the age of 30, Hermione would think that Ron would finally be mature enough to let the past go. Sure, Draco had always been out of line whenever he insulted the Weasley family, but their rivalry goes all the way up to their respective patriarchs. To be honest, Hermione gave Draco no reason to make him treat her the way he did except just being a muggleborn witch… and maybe that she had outsmarted him in everything of every way. She should be the one who held a grudge.

Oh, well.

Ginny made a simple apple pie and they topped it off with vanilla ice cream. It was heavenly.

Hermione dug in with gusto. "Ah, Ginny, I swear if I had been a man, I might have married you."

"For food?" Ginny laughed.

"Trust me, I married her for her culinary skills… and then some," Harry put in, suggestive at the last bit.

"Blimey, Harry! Don't do that!" Ron exclaimed, his ears turning red. "Disgusting."

Ginny glared at him.

The others laughed except for the two siblings.

"How's the planning coming along?" Harry asked Ron and Dawn, referring to their upcoming wedding.

"We haven't had made any progress yet," Dawn admitted. "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has been on a roll with the new products George came up with."

Ron smiled sheepishly. "He was inspired to make more mischief models when Roxanne was born." Roxanne was George and Angelina's newborn daughter. "He said that he might have to mellow down before Rox grows up. He particularly didn't want her to be as mischievous as he and Fred. Angelina wouldn't allow it."

"But with little Freddie, George wouldn't have it any other way."

The trio and Ginny smiled sadly.

Later that evening, while the five of them were gathered in the drawing room with their preferred beverages for nightcap, Hermione and Ron were on speaking terms again, their quarrel during dinner was forgotten. As the fire lay low in the fireplace, the evening turned to night, Hermione cradled her glass of red wine, her thoughts turning on a melancholy level and the two couples grew more aware of their significant other, she decided it was time to take her leave. Downing the rest of her wine, she stood up from her place near the window.

"I should go home and get some rest. It's been a long day," she said as she approached Harry and Ginny, sitting quietly on the couch and holding hands. "And I have a seminar to in America in the morning." She fought the urge to sigh deeply.

The couple stood up to hug her as did Ron who was sitting by Dawn's knee at the other side of the room. The two couples bid their goodbyes, hugging and kiss her affectionately, keeping their promise to meet again for dinner the week after the next.

Sometimes it still awed her that she maintained her friendship with the three. Nineteen years of solid friendship. It couldn't get any better than that.

* * *

The next day, Hermione went to America via portkey for the seminar. It had been long, informative and boring. She met a few healers and potioneers from all over Europe. There was a buffet and she ate heartily. She'd been doing that lately—eating a lot. She sent word to Viktor that morning before she left. His reply had been an invitation to accompany to his friend's cocktail party. She accepted readily.

Her social life had improved a lot since a couple of months ago and she found that she liked it. The thought of being on her own these days didn't hold the appeal the way it did upon breaking up with Oliver.

She chose a combe lace dress in navy. It didn't reveal anything except her newly acquired curves… She always had a thin frame but over the past year, she had been a bit lonesome and had taken refuge in food—emotional eating. Her body parts had filled out softly. She loved it! She ran her hands down the front of her dress, delighting in how good she looked.

She stopped. When had she ever been vain? She laughed softly to herself and proceeded to finish styling her hair and the last touch to her minimal makeup.

Hermione hadn't seen Viktor for almost five years, but he had written to her. They went all unanswered because writing to a man who's interested in you doesn't sit well with Oliver. She cared for Viktor deeply. He was the first boy she was attracted to. He had told her once that he had never felt about a girl like the way he felt about her… and then he kissed her.

But given the circumstances and amidst a war, they parted ways and continued to write to each other. Three years later, she saw him again at Bill and Fleur's wedding and he expressed his disappointment upon learning her sort-of relationship with Ron Weasley, but he did wish the both of them happiness.

It was half an hour later when her doorbell rang and the door revealed an impeccably dressed man knew to the world as the best seeker in the world at the mere age of 17. Tall, dark hair and dark eyes, his full beard seemingly appealing as it was trimmed neatly and was decorated with that old half-smirk of his. She once considered him grumpy-looking and not particularly handsome but at the age of 34, he was that and more. He didn't look grumpy now though, he owas beaming at her, his eyes alight.

"Hermy-own-ninny!"

"Viktor!"

She rushed to give him a hug and he hugged her back affectionately. She pulled back to raise an eyebrow at him. "Hermy-own-ninny?"

He smiled as he released her from his hold. "You look beautiful," he said instead.

"And you look handsome," she returned.

"I know." He wiggled his thick eyebrows.

"Still the narcissist, I see," she muttered, but she was smiling.

"Still blunt as ever, I see," he countered.

She shrugged noncommittally.

He laughed again as they walked out of her flat, linking his arm with hers. As always, with her, he was loquacious. He made her laugh with his dry humor and in turn, she made him laugh with her good-natured teasing, making light of his beard.

Comfortable. That was the summary of her friendship with Viktor Krum. There are times when she felt that they could be something more than comfortable, but there had always been a part of her making her hold back. She also realized that he felt the exact same way because if he felt otherwise, he would have made his move a long, long time ago.

Viktor apparated them to a country house located in the hamlet of Nether Worton, situated between Deddington and Chipping Norton in North Oxfordshire. The 10-foot brick wall that surrounded the estate was daunting if it hadn't been for the house lighting up from beyond. There was a black gate in the middle and it was open; there were small, but tall tables around the front garden. Soft, jazz music were flowing throughout the place. There were about a hundred people in attendance. It reminded her of Juliet's engagement party.

At the open gate, the entrance, they were greeted by a middle-aged couple. Viktor greeted them warmly and they were introduced to Hermione as Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop, Ember and Garrick.

* * *

_She's here._

Draco sat still as he watched her walk inside the front garden of the Winthrop estate. As a Quidditch enthusiast, it was impossible for him not to recognize the man she was with—the one who had his arm wrapped around her waist possessively. Viktor Krum, the most famous seeker representing the Bulgarian National Quidditch team since 1994.

His hand was clenching the crystal goblet he held in his hand, but he was unaware of this.

Granger—_why didn't she tell me she would be coming? Oh, right, because I avoided her for the past two weeks! But that was not the point. The point was why she is here with that—that Bulgarian oaf!_ It didn't matter that he was one of his favorite seekers. It didn't matter that he supported Krum way back in fourth year at Hogwarts during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He merely supported him because he'd rather lick toads than support a Hufflepuff and Potter, and he also didn't think that a girl—a beautiful, dainty girl like Fleur Delacour to win in that dangerous tournament. G_ranger, what are you—?_

Hermione leaned up and kissed Krum's cheek before he walked away towards the table that held the drinks.

He stood up abruptly from his seat.

"Draco!" His companion gasped.

He frowned and looked down. He flushed, he had forgotten about his date, Katerina Lizveth. She peered up at him appealingly through her lashes, her bright blue eyes shining, partly covered by her bangs. But he didn't see those blue eyes, but rather the image of Hermione leaning to kiss Krum.

He thought he had gotten over his little crush on his friend. He figured if he stayed away for a little while, things would get back to the way it was. In fact, he had been planning on popping up on their usual spot in the fifth floor of St. Mungo's yesterday afternoon but was held up by a complicated potion the required his constant attention. He didn't want another accident.

When the potion had finally needed to brew quietly for the next 48 hours, it had already been almost eleven and he knew that she promptly left the hospital at eight in the evening.

"What is your problem?" Katerina demanded as she, too, stood up. "You haven't paid attention to me all night. You've done nothing but sit there and drink. You're pathetic! I don't know what I even saw in you. I don't know why I even took the trouble to go out of my way to look nice for you! I was excited for this date!"

Indeed she was a gorgeous woman—sexy even. But unfortunately, she wasn't his type. Embarrassed, Draco put his hand on her shoulders to calm her down. "Shh. You're drawing people's attention. Why don't we go out and talk there?" He suggested calmly, looking around self-consciously at the curious on-lookers.

"No!" She almost shrieked.

He drew back in surprise.

"I like you. I've been waiting to draw your attention ever since you worked in the company but you—you were always with that h-healer, panting after her like a lapdog!"

"I-I'm not—" Draco stuttered.

"Yes, don't bother to deny it! I watched you every time she came to the company to get you." Katerina sighed, defeated. Her voice lowered and softened. "I'm sorry… it's just... I thought when you broke things off with her—"

"Wait, we're just friends—"

"Could have fooled me," she interrupted rather snidely. "I've seen the way you look at her and I saw the way she looked at you. You tell everyone you're just friends but your eyes say something different." Her gaze shifted from his face to somewhere beyond his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw Hermione standing there not five feet away beside Krum. From the expressions on their faces, they must have heard every single word Katerina had said.

_Bloody hell!_


	7. Chapter 7

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 7**

As it was, to avoid further embarrassment, Draco went after Katerina who ran away in a huff, giving Hermione a look of contempt before leaving the party. He had enough decency to see the girl home. He had tried to make amends with Katerina but she merely slammed the door in his face.

Surely there wasn't some truth to what she said?

Yes. No. Maybe.

Draco shook his head as he apparated back to his flat and decided to get drunk.

Alright, so maybe getting drunk these days was out of his league. He didn't get drunk but had a few or rather half a dozen shots of firewhiskey. He was too old for that sort of thing. He was, apparently, a little drunk because he decided to apparate to Granger's flat a little before midnight. He was sober enough not to splinch himself doing so.

He pounded his fists on her front door. "Granger, open up. We need to talk."

He heard a slamming of the door inside, a mutter of curses before the door opened before him. "Malfoy, do you have any idea what time it is?" Hermione Granger demanded, an annoyed expression on her face. In the dim light, he saw that her face was free of makeup, her hair was a wild mess of curls, but he couldn't see what she was wearing. His eyes narrowed at her.

"Is he here?" He demanded, facing her squarely.

"Wh-who?"

"Krum."

"Why—" Hermione stopped talking as she came forward, smelling something peculiar. "Malfoy, are you drunk?"

"Of course not!" He denied hotly.

"You are," she accused. "You came here—drunk—demanding to see if I have a man spending the night with me? You have some nerve. And besides you haven't spoken to me in weeks! Now you come here in this _condition_!"

"That's why I said we needed to talk. Let me in. Please," he amended.

Slowly, Hermione opened the door to let him in. She walked inside and cast wandless magic to flick open the lights. He followed, closing the door behind him. He caught a glimpse of Hermione in a skimpy nightie before she disappeared inside a room—presumably her bedroom. She came back a moment later, wearing a thick terry cloth robe and it was tightly secured around her waist.

Maybe he was drunker than he thought because when she turned to face him, an annoyed expression on her face, hands on her hips, his hand reached out to clutch her chin, tilting her head back and before they both realized what was happening, their lips met in a tentative kiss. Testing, Draco's mouth feathered across hers, his breath misting over her sensitized flesh in a gentle caress. He nibbled. He nipped.

And then he staked his claim.

Hermione's lungs emptied in a rushing sigh, her lashes fluttered down and her arms came up and circled Draco's neck. He angled his face, seeking more intimate access. His tongue teased against the corners of her lips then flirted along the center seam, asking permission. She granted it tentatively, and he groaned as he deepened their kiss.

She shifted restlessly, whimpered against his conquering mouth.

She wanted him. She had never dreamed of such a possibility that she would ever want _Draco Malfoy_! And he wanted her. She could feel it in the hunger of his kiss and the hardness of his body.

But—_mother of Merlin! _

A few moments later, she pushed away from his chest a bit.

"H-Hermione?" He asked when he finally released her, his voice raspy and almost harsh. "Hermione, I didn't mean—I mean, I never—"

"Neither did I," she responded, accompanied by short, sharp pants.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you?"

"Yes," he hissed.

Silence.

While Hermione was waiting for her heart rate to return to a normal, steady pace, she'd been pondering what just happened between the two of them. Once minute she was pissed at him—she had been ten seconds from going into bed when he started banging on the front door of her flat—and the next minute, he was kissing her and then she was kissing him! Not to mention that he finally called her Hermione!

She looked at Draco. He was staring at her, his grey eyes wide, his mouth parted in shock, as if she had just sprouted two new heads.

Finally, but thoughtlessly, she took a step back from him… and another, and another. "What just—did we just—how—"

"I don't know," he replied, finally composed. "I don't know what came over me… but I'm not sorry. Not even a bit."

She glared at him but didn't say anything. She really had no idea what made her kiss him back. Although if she was honest to herself, the scene between Draco and her gorgeous date earlier that evening had a little something to do with it. The other woman had said he had been 'panting over her like a lapdog' which Hermione and Draco both knew that wasn't true—because they were friends. Good friends, if they were ever being honest. Maybe the eight glasses of champagne during the party had a little something to do with her actions as well.

Although, it had been a good kiss. No—it was wonderful, to be honest. She felt the kiss from the top of her head all the way down to her toes. And much to her dismay, she wasn't sorry about the kiss either.

She told him so. "Me too."

The spell that weaved between them during the kiss was gone now, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling knowing that things between them will never be the same again.

* * *

"No, I'm quite certain that there are exactly one hundred forty-two staircases in Hogwarts!"

Hermione groaned irritably. "There are one hundred forty-five!"

Draco glowered at her, because he knew that he was right. There had been only one time he opened Hogwarts: A History in his whole life and he stumbled upon that particular page. "Do you want to bet on that, Granger?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "_Honestly_, why are even fighting about this?"

"We are not fighting," he contradicted. "We are merely having a rather debacle discussion on the number of staircases in Hogwarts which is your fault, by the way. You were the one who started yapping about them."

It was true, because she had tried to steer clear away from the topic of THE KISS the other night because he kept bringing it up. She wasn't ready to talk about THE KISS yet, due to the fact that she hadn't analyzed the situation. She needed to discuss this with her friend, Ginny. She needed her advice.

It was Monday afternoon and Draco dropped by St. Mungo's to take her to lunch—to compensate for his atrocious drunken stupor the other night of course, excluding THE KISS—on which Hermione had cut him off, determined to forget about it if it were possible. But there was too much history between the two of them to make her forget about something as a kiss. Ginny would probably have a laugh though, remembering her teasing one night while having dinner with them.

"Let's just forget about it then." She sighed, taking a sip from her third cup of coffee that day. She hadn't been getting enough sleep since THE KISS. She seriously needed to stop thinking about that.

"So how's Krum?" Draco spat out the bloke's name as if it were vermin.

Hermione pretended not to notice. "He's doing fine, he was in town last week for their game against Appleby Arrows."

Draco scoffed. "Bulgaria won by a hundred points. Cabbageman"—referring to Appleby Arrows' seeker, Gregory Cotton whose head had been transfigured into a cabbage by Pride of Portree's seeker, Dougal McBride, during a game—"didn't stand a chance against Krum."

She shrugged, not caring much for ranks in Quidditch. "Viktor is one of the best seekers in the world. I'm pretty sure not a lot of people can hold a candle to that."

He sneered at that. "Not Aidan Lynch," he grumbled, referring to Irish National Quidditch team's seeker.

Hermione had to agree, remembering the only Quidditch World Cup she had attended the summer of 1994 before their fourth year in Hogwarts. Glancing at her watch, it read thirty minutes passed one in the afternoon. She still had an hour of break yet, plenty of time for Draco to find an opportunity to bring up THE KISS.

As if reading her mind, Draco drawled out, "We need to talk about it at some point, you know."

"I know," she said dejectedly. "Leave it alone, for now."

He raised an eyebrow but accepted her decision with a resigned nod. He glanced at his watch. "Well, we still have plenty of time left. What do you say we stroll around and find a good place to eat dessert?"

Hermione perked up. "There's a new place down in the Piazza in Covent Garden Market…" She told him as they walked outside of the restaurant. She took him to a homey little bistro, knowing he was a sweet-tooth. She ordered two orders of a dish called _Rumble in the Crumble_, an apple crumble pie, and two orders of strawberry cheesecake.

"Blown up any potions lately?" Hermione teased good-naturedly, having forgotten about THE KISS.

"Very funny, Granger," he said wryly. "Bullied any healers lately?"

"Touché. But no," she laughed, dropping her fork. "They didn't assign me a trainee for the rest of the year."

"Gee, Granger, I wonder why," he muttered sarcastically. "I always knew you're bossy and dominating and all, but I never pegged you for a terror teacher, or in your case, healer."

"What a way to put it, Malfoy," she gasped in astonishment. "Bossy and dominating! Really!"

"Half the staff is _scared_ if not intimidated by you."

"How would _you_ know?"

His eyes widened with innocence. "I heard a few talks during my stay in St. Mungo's…" He trailed off as she started glowering at him. "Of course, the imp of a healer under Fairfax didn't think so. You're a goddess to her." He snorted.

"I assume you were referring to Deirdre," she responded wryly. "You make me laugh, Malfoy. She just wants to be a good healer. Like me." She grinned. "But speaking of co-workers, how's er—your date?" Hermione refused to talk about THE KISS but they discuss what went on with the party and ended up laughing at his date. They avoided the 'panting after her like a lapdog' subject though.

His eyes narrowed at her. "I don't want to talk about it."

"What was her name—Katherine, or something the other?"

"Katerina and she's been avoiding me like plague, if you're positively _dying_ to know."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed, delighting in his pained expression. Draco categorized this moment where she causes premature ventricular contractions in his heart, quite similar to when her little pink tongue darted out to lick at a non-existent mess on the corner of her lip.

He shook his head at her.

* * *

Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Draco stared at her fingers that were playing with the always present pendant of her necklace. She was saying something but he wasn't hearing any of it. He supposed she was saying something about how they lost a patient earlier that day and she was really, really sad. His eyes drifted towards the hint of cleavage her cream-colored blouse was portraying. His mouth felt dry. _Focus, Draco_. His eyes snapped back towards her face, which were downcast, particularly on her lap.

It was a week after THE KISS incident. Draco convinced her on a Sunday afternoon to accompany him to a secluded lake to fish—more likely, relax under the sun and indeed, there was really no fishing going on, rather he sleeps or reads, not even bothering to hook bait fish. He thought she'd appreciate a change of scenery from the crowded London.

It was a little rowing boat, only big enough for two. He was seated facing her at the other end of the boat, cradling a bottle of butterbeer. She was reclined against a couple of pillows she conjured.

He decided to say something before she notices. "Granger, don't beat yourself up about it," he consoled, not even sure what he was saying.

"You're right," she sighed. "It was expected though. Having to fight a mental illness all his life due to the results of—" she shuddered. "incest."

Draco gaped at her when her hands dropped from the necklace only to wrap her arms around her torso, unintentionally squeezing her breasts together. He cannot do this. He cannot do this. He just cannot do this!

He couldn't deny it any longer. He wanted her. He wanted Hermione Granger. He'd been fighting tooth and nail to deny his feelings for her. He tried to act nonchalance as she did. Indifferent even. But _damn it_, he was bewitched.

"I can't do this," he said to himself, but Hermione heard it.

"Can't do what?"

"This—" He gestured towards the two of them, dropping the bottle of butterbeer but he didn't notice as it made a mess on the floor of the boat. "We can't be friends, Granger."

"What?" She looked crestfallen.

"We can't be friends," he repeated, leaning forward. "When all I want to do is this." He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling him to her, smothering her cry of surprise with his lips. Just like the last time, Hermione didn't fight him. Helplessly, as her eyes closed, her hands came to crawl up his chest as his hands trailed around her to bring her flush against him, making the boat waver.

Draco felt her willingness, lifting her slightly to settle her on his lap. He groaned, when he felt her mouth open against his tentatively. _Merlin_. Her tongue darted out to lick tentatively at his bottom lip. Draco didn't need to be asked twice. He opened his mouth, angled his head and deepened their kiss, his tongue meeting hers in a dance.

For the first time in Hermione's life, she couldn't produce a coherent thought. She could only _feel_. His hands that were resting at the small of her back, her hands that were playing with the hairs on his nape, his chest that flattened her breasts, and his mouth that were doing wonders on _her_ mouth—_oh… _she moaned out loud, shifting so she was comfortable on Draco's lap, wrapping his legs around his waist.

That was when she felt _it._

Draco groaned, when she started moving her groin against his. He pulled away from their kiss but kept his arms around her and she, him. "This is crazy," he gasped.

"Very," she agreed, staring into his eyes, her own very wide with wonder. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"We shouldn't," he echoed.

"Because we're friends," she all but whined.

"Not really."

"Excuse me?" She pulled back from him.

"Well, then, explain to me how we can be friends when we're snogging the hell out of each other."

"Hmm."

She couldn't say anything further than that because Draco decided to bury his face in her neck and trailed kisses all the way up to her lips and thus, the snogging the hell out of each other began again. However, when things got a little too hot and a little too heavy, Hermione eased away from Draco, emitting a protest from the latter. She ignored it and stayed on her side of the boat.

"What are you doing over there, Hermione?"

She held up a hand. "Be rational, Draco. We can't just be friends one second and _this _the next."

"Meaning you haven't analyzed the situation yet."

Oh, he knew her all too well and she wasn't quite sure why that annoyed her. He was absolutely right. "It's getting dark, Draco. Let's go back to the city."

Draco was angry and he didn't hide it. Frustration was evident in his strokes when he was rowing them back to shore, he stole glances at her who was looking out to the water, lost in thought and she was avoiding his gaze. However, he'll be around the second she finally came to the conclusion that this _thing_ between them was inevitable. He just needed to be a little patient.


	8. Chapter 8

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 8**

"We kissed."

"_Merlin's beard_," Ginny breathed in awe. "You kissed Malfoy?"

Hermione's head hung as if in shame. "Twice or three times, a lot of times. I can't recall."

"_Blimey_!"

"Yes," Hermione whimpered. "In a span of three days."

Ginny was amused as she studied her longtime friend, bent over a cup of tea, staring into it as if she had seen _the grim_. It was refreshing that Hermione was acting like this. Hermione was a sophisticated woman—she was always confident, so sure of herself in regards to men because she _knows_ what she wants.

But then again, kissing an old childhood nemesis turned friend can be confusing as hell so she took pity on her and decided not to tease her—yet.

She was unable to hide her grin however. "How did this happen?" She asked gently.

"The first one happened the night I went to the party with Viktor and Draco was there—"

"Draco—?" Last Ginny knew, they still called each other Malfoy and Granger.

"M-Malfoy was there with a date," Hermione stammered. "Viktor and I saw the two of them and we decided to say hello, but when we got close they were actually having an argument."

"About?" Ginny prompted when Hermione hesitated.

"Well—err—she thought that I was Malfoy's girlfriend but we haven't spoken or seen each other in a little over two weeks so she thought that we had broken up—" After that, Hermione mumbled something unintelligible.

"Pardon?" Ginny leaned forward.

"She said that he was panting after me like a lapdog!" She all but shrieked and then she blushed very deeply.

At this point, Ginny was roaring with laughter, pounding the little coffee table, drawing attention to them as they sat outside the restaurant.

Hermione stared at her friend sullenly as she laughed at her expense. Ginny's face had turned red from all the laughter. Hermione cradled the teacup and sipped gingerly, waiting for Ginny to gather her wits again.

"Are you quite finished?" Hermione asked once Ginny's laughter died down.

The redhead wiped at the corner of her eyes when tears had leaked. She was grinning broadly. "Alright, Hermione. Please continue with your story."

Hermione huffed. "Well, around midnight he came crashing to my flat—drunk—he said he wanted to talk. But when he was inside, he demanded to know if Viktor was staying the night." She paused as Ginny smothered a laugh. "Anyway, we never had the chance to talk because he kissed me out of nowhere!"

"And then you pushed him away?" Ginny surmised.

She blushed again. "No—I didn't. I kissed him back."

"You didn't!"

"I did! It was like I was powerless. I couldn't resist."

Ginny gasped, all laughter gone now. "Are you quite serious?"

She nodded. "I am quite serious. I don't really know what came over me. But most probably it was the champagne. I had more than half a dozen glasses of champagne."

"You always had a low tolerance for alcohol," Ginny murmured. "But what happened after that?"

"I sent him home. We had lunch and he kept pestering me to talk about it. I told him I didn't want to and he let it rest. It continued like that for almost a week, like the way it was before, but then yesterday afternoon, we went fishing—well, more likely, slept—on our respective sides, mind you—of the rowing boat when we started talking. And he muttered something about he couldn't do this—whatever this was—and that we can't be friends and out of nowhere, he jumped me!"

"He jumped you!" Ginny repeated loudly.

Hermione shushed her, looking frantically around and sure enough there were astonished gazes focused at the two of them. "Ginny! Shh! I didn't mean it like that. He suddenly kissed me again and just like the last time, I couldn't resist. He is just too much a bloody good kisser."

Ginny screwed up her face in disgust. "Really, Hermione? Malfoy?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes. He is. I can't believe I just said that. Anyway, right now he's angry at me when we were rowing back ashore. And I—ah, apparated when I gathered my things."

"Really." Ginny laughed again. "Good for you! I mean I know you two are friends and all, but I still like the knowledge of Malfoy bruising his ego."

Hermione sighed. "Gin, I don't know what to do. Malfoy became a really good friend of sorts. We get along really well and we really have good conversations. Now this is happening. Ron and I, we love each other and we're best friends but it didn't work out. On the other hand, Malfoy and I, we get along fine and we're not even best friends so I'm quite certain that something between us could and would never happen."

"Hermione," Ginny said, all seriousness now. "Your relationship with Ron didn't work out because you two are such good friends. Harry and I were friends but we weren't that _good_. Do you get me? From the looks of it, you and Malfoy had a good foundation for a successful relationship hadn't it been for your gruesome history."

"Hold on a minute, what was I even thinking? He's not even looking for a relationship and why am I assuming? Of course he could bloody well just want to be friends with benefits!"

"Now don't sell yourself short, Hermione Granger," Ginny scolded. "_Especially_ on Malfoy's account. Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this—" she groaned, "Why don't you give him a chance?"

Hermione's eyes widened before she lowered her head again. "No, Gin. I'm not the type of girl to go lightly into a relationship. You know that."

"_I know that_. That's why even if I don't like it—there's a possibility that you can find happiness… with… Malfoy," she finished lamely. "Harry and Ron wouldn't take this lightly."

"Ron wouldn't. I think Harry would be more adjusted, per se—wait up, hold on. Why am I even considering this?" Hermione said again, mostly to herself. "I don't think I'm going to let a few kisses to get in the way of our friendship but if he can't deal with that then I guess it's friendship over."

"Let me just ponder over this for a second. Your friendship with Malfoy consists of lunches and dinners out together, attending parties together, fishing together—"

"Yes, yes, yes," Hermione said irritably. "Do you have a point?"

"Yes, I'm getting to that." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Before you react, just look at this on a mature level. Because it seems to me, your so-called friendship sounds a bit like dating."

"Dating?"

"Yes, you know? Going out, getting to know each other, snogging, and whatnot."

* * *

The rest of the day wasn't hectic. The fourth floor of St. Mungo's didn't have a single emergency case, mostly mediocre spell damage and the other healers with her had a handle of things. It was eight that evening and she had just finished her last rounds for the day. She changed out of her healer robes, put up her hair in a messy bun, shrugged into a coat and walking out of the hospital.

The moment she stepped foot out, Draco was leaning against a nearby lamp post. She stopped dead in her tracks. Earlier's conversation during lunch with Ginny flashed through her mind. Was Ginny right? Their so-called friendship was more like dating?

Draco lifted his head and smirked when he caught sight of her. He strode towards her and in a few strides he was standing in front of her.

"Dinner?"

He held out his hand towards her but this scene had happened a couple of times before, indicating that he wanted her to side-along apparate with him.

Tentatively, Hermione placed her hands in his, felt his hand clasp it, and braced herself for the unpleasant feeling of side-along apparition, shutting her eyes tightly. When she felt nothing, she cracked open one eye to see Draco peering at her with an odd expression.

"You okay there, Granger?"

Hermione glared at him. "I thought we were going to apparate."

Draco chuckled at her. "No, we're going to have dinner at Castleton Café which is three blocks away. You don't mind walking, do you?"

"Then why are you holding my hand?"

He shrugged dismissively. "Do I need a reason?"

"Yes," she snapped.

"Then it's because I want to."

Startled, she drew back but he kept a firm grip on her hand. "Just because we've kissed a couple of times doesn't mean we're going lovey-dovey on each other."

"Oh." He dropped her hand. "I thought you girls wanted that." He shrugged again.

"Yes, when we're sixteen years old, Malfoy. _Honestly_." Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, to answer your question, no, I do not mind walking at all. Now, shall we? I'm famished."

Draco smiled at her, leaving Hermione a little vexed. Before THE KISSES, he wasn't _tender_ like that.

They walked side by side in comfortable silence. However, at the corner of her eye, Hermione witnessed Draco stealing glances at her. When the last one she caught had lingered a little longer than the others, she snapped her heads towards him. "What?"

He looked away, unperturbed. "Nothing."

She gave a sound of frustration. She wasn't normally so testy, not now, maybe ten years ago, but not now. She thought she didn't have such a short temper anymore, considering a few anger management classes her friends had pushed her to go through. But with Draco Malfoy annoying the hell out of her, it seems those classes were dissolved.

"I'm not going to jump you, if that's what you're furious about." He sounded wounded.

She didn't say anything, frustration still simmering in her core. She wasn't sure why she was so frustrated. It had something to do with what Ginny had said to her earlier. _Your so-called friendship sounds a bit like dating_, Ginny had said. It annoyed Hermione that her friend's assumptions were a bit accurate.

Eventually Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, Malfoy. It's been a long day."

"I see."

There was a pause in conversation. They are more than halfway to the restaurant now. Hermione could see the glare of the flashing lights of the line of restaurants and shops on the street. There weren't much wizards and witches around, considering it a Tuesday night. A low buzzing sound consisted of conversations from distant parts of the street wafted through them.

"Did I mess up terribly?" He asked quietly.

Did he? Hermione asked herself. Well, she was still with him, wasn't she? She decided that he hadn't messed up and told him so. "No," she said simply.

He stopped in his tracks and grabbed her hand, stopping her as well. She turned to face him with a question on her face. "Would I mess up if I did this?" Not waiting for an answer, he slid a hand at the back of her head, pushing it towards his for a kiss.

Hermione jumped, but she allowed to be kissed—for not more than five seconds. _"Malfoy,"_ she hissed.

He wore a goofy smile on his face. "What?"

"Public displays of affection do not sit well with me!"

"Sorry." He shrugged, looking not the least bit sorry. Just like a little while ago, he kept a firm grip on her hand as he pulled her to walk again. "I meant what I said, you know."

"What?"

"I don't want to pretend to be friends anymore. I want you," he said simply as if what he just said wasn't a big deal; as if he was just talking about the weather.

Hermione was stunned into silence. "You w-want me?"

He nodded, casting a side-along glance. "I wanted you for a while now," he admitted. "I thought it was just a phase—so I stayed away for a couple of weeks and I went out with a couple of women—just dinner dates—but then I saw you with Krum at the party, I realized that I was insanely jealous after seeing you kiss him."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks again. "I never kissed him."

"You did," Draco said. He pointed to his right cheek. "Right here. You kissed him on the cheek."

She rolled her eyes.

"And then," he continued, turning to look at her again. "Katerina told me some things I'd rather not repeat. I decided to get smoshed—but before I did, I decided not to lie to myself anymore so I came to your flat."

"Where you kissed me," Hermione finished for him.

"I didn't plan to," he replied, searching her eyes in the dim light. "I was a little drunk and you looked so bloody sexy in your nightie—"

"So you did see—!" She gasped.

He smirked. "Just a glimpse. Anyway, so I kissed you, despite the consequences. I never thought you would kiss me back."

She flushed and mumbled something under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind." She flushed again.

"Come on, Granger."

"No."

"I spill my heart out to you and that's all I get?" He said incredulously. Without warning, he pulled Hermione into a dark alley, making her squeal in surprise. He brought her body up against his, supporting the other side of her against the wall.

"_What the bloody hell, Malfoy—_"

He chuckled lowly. "What was it that you were mumbling about?"

"I said I enjoyed kissing you, alright? Stop manhandling me and let me go. If you don't, I swear to Merlin I will hex your bollocks off and make you cry—"

He cut her off. "Has anybody told you that you talk too much?" And then he kissed her, taking advantage of her open mouth. She struggled, but they were half-hearted attempts before she sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He pulled way slightly. "I can't seem to stop kissing you. And I don't think I want to."

"Me too," she whispered back, her lips fluttering against his. She wrapped her dangling legs around his waist tightly, making him groan. "Still up for that dinner?"

"No!"

"Too bad." She unwrapped her legs from around him, pushing away from the wall and wriggling until she was standing in front of him on her own. "I believe you owe me dinner." She turned on her heel and left him staring after her in great astonishment.

"_Bloody hell_. You really are something, Granger," he said, but she was already about ten paces ahead of him. By the time he reached her, she was standing outside the Castleton Café with a bored expression on her face. He shook his head at her as he opened the door for her, smirking slightly as she deliberately brushed against him.

Dinner was short and the conversation was normal. They talked about his work and her work. They laughed over a few of their antics that day. They shared a discussion about a couple of paperbacks they had read recently. In other words, it was as if like the times they were just friends at which Hermione was thankful for. She hadn't counted on his confession earlier and was quite stunned. She wasn't ready to face anything beyond their friendship and a few kisses.

Albeit, very welcome kisses.

And like before, Draco's gazes were intent when she was talking. Funny, this time it held heat. Had it been there all along? Or was it their newfound attraction to each other that made Hermione see it?

Nervously, her left hand lifted to play with the pendant of her necklace and she saw his gaze zeroing on her hand. Her nervousness grew and she fidgeted with the pendant. Why was he staring so intently_? Look away. Look away please_, she chanted in her head. She clutched her pendant. That seemed to snap Draco out of his reverie. Did he seem a little flushed?

"It's getting late," he said, pushing away from the table. He seemed to be looking everywhere but at her. "You still have an early shift tomorrow."

She glanced at her watch and saw it was five minutes past ten that evening. She pushed away from the table and they went out. Draco apparated them to Hermione's flat. He had her flat against her front door, kissed her thoroughly for a good five minutes and he apparated away, leaving her flustered.

She really needed to think this through, but she couldn't yet because he had yet to say what he expected from her. I want you, he had said. But to what extent? Did he want to pursue a romantic relationship? Did he want to have sex with her and remain platonic friends? There were so many questions.

But the most important question was…

What did she want?


	9. Chapter 9

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 9**

The rest of the week flew by in a whirl and before they knew it, it was Friday. Yesterday, Draco bargained with Liebeck about his schedule so that it matched Hermione's lunch break. Of course, Hermione didn't need to know that. He took her out to lunch every day, except for today. She had been perplexed but she didn't complain. For today, he had decided to bring lunch to her at St. Mungo's. That might raise some eyebrows, especially he had been a former patient of a very complicated case whose life she had saved therefore making him known there. He went to their favorite Turkish restaurant and ordered their respective meals along with their favorite dessert. He then proceeded to walk briskly to his destination.

He knew that Hermione looked onto him as just a friend. She was still reluctant to acknowledge as something more which was why he kept kissing her until she got the idea. Well, that and that he couldn't seem to stop himself every time.

He didn't know exactly what he wanted from her. All he knew was that he wanted to get involved with her in a romantic fashion. A steady relationship? Why not if she gave him a chance? He already knew that he wasn't good enough for her. Hermione Granger, the war-hero, a celebrity, a role model, and the most sought after woman these days suddenly in a relationship with Draco Malfoy, a famed former Death Eater who bullied her and her friends to an extensive account during childhood. Not to mention the fact that she had saved him from an unfortunate death in account of his own stupidity. He could see the headlines now. But she seemed to be happy in his presence and she didn't mind his kisses.

Whistling under his breath, he walked in St. Mungo's, purposely ignoring the stares and the whispers.

"_That's Draco Malfoy._"

"_A waste of breathing space…"_

"_He was a patient here a couple of months ago._"

"_The one Healer Granger kept alive."_

"_Which was totally unnecessary…"_

"_He's a rather formidable fellow, isn't he?"_

"_What do you expect? He's a former Death Eater for Merlin's sake!"_

"_Oh, I don't know, I really go for the bad boy types."_

"_He hardly looks like a bad boy though."_

"_Oh, yes, he looks like an angel."_

Draco sputtered. He turned to glare at his audience. The medi-witches and wizards scattered suddenly, sweating and blushing at being caught. _They weren't actually being discreet, were they?_ Shaking his head, he headed for the lifts. Once inside, he pressed the button to the fifth floor, ignoring the other occupants. He stepped off at his destination and headed for Granger's office.

Before he reached it, he bumped into a familiar face. "Healer Bronagh," he greeted politely.

The little healer blushed faintly. "Hi, Draco," she replied. "What are you doing here? Your lunch break was over an hour ago."

Draco smirked. "Oh, I had Liebeck fix my schedule. How is it going with him, by the way?"

"Terrific." She smiled, a dimple showing at her right cheek. "We went to lunch today. Anyway, if you're looking for Healer Fairfax, he's a little occupied with a patient in the intensive care unit on the third floor. I suppose he'll be done in half an hour."

He shook his head. "I'm looking for Healer Granger. Have you seen her around?"

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She's in her office. Just go straight ahead. Last room on the right. Say, what have you got there?" She stepped forward and peered at the paper bags he held in his right hand.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Nosy little chit, aren't you?"

She straightened, pouting at him. "I was just asking. Well, go on then."

Shaking his head at the young healer his boss started dating a couple weeks back, he proceeded to walk to Hermione's office. He entered without knocking, startling her.

Bent over writing on an official document, she looked up, irritated at the interruption. When she saw who it was, she glared at him. "Ever heard of knocking, Malfoy?"

"Yes." Unperturbed, he approached her desk to put aside the papers and put the paper bags on top.

"What's this?" She peered over the paper bags and smiled when she smelled the strong aroma of her favorite Turkish food.

"Lunch."

She whooped, burying her hands inside to take out the food. "I was getting a bit hungry. It's been a hectic morning."

"Want to talk about it?" He offered, taking a seat across from her.

"Do you remember Gilderoy Lockhart?"

He snorted. "Who wouldn't."

"He was one of the longest patients here—since 1993—well, he died last night from complications."

"Sorry to hear that," he muttered solemnly to appease her. He really didn't care about Lockhart.

"The other healers and other stay-in patients were in hysterics this morning." She rubbed her temples. "Anyway, I really appreciate that you brought lunch here. You're so thoughtful."

"Me? Thoughtful? Bite your tongue, Granger." He scoffed indifferently. "I brought lunch here because I'm not in the mood to deal with people today." This was a complete and total lie. He wanted her to get accustomed to their being alone.

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

_Sure, if there was something to talk about_. "It's nothing," he said dismissively.

"Oh yes, I forgot," she grinned. "You hate people. Except for me, of course."

Draco knew it was a simple friendly banter but her words hit a little too close to the truth and he wasn't ready to admit that to her—he wasn't even ready to admit that to himself! "A bit narcissistic on your part, Granger?" he said dryly. "Get over yourself."

Hermione laughed. "But you always come around, Malfoy."

He didn't say anything but just rolled his eyes and started eating. She followed suit and they ate in silence except for an occasional word or two in between. Funnily enough, after everything that happened between them, the silence was comfortable. At first, he had thought for sure that the moment he kissed her their friendship was over. But it wasn't. In fact, it seemed their friendship was still as strong as ever.

After their meal, they sat back in their seats with a satisfied sigh.

"Do you know what I had to go through by coming in here?" He started conversationally. "They're gossiping about me—I heard someone say I look like an angel—hell!" He shuddered.

Hermione snorted in an unladylike fashion.

"Very attractive, Granger," he muttered dryly, smirking when she glared at him. He stood up from his seat and in two steps he was standing in front of her. "You know you've been staring daggers at me all afternoon. Although I love seeing you get all riled up over me…"

"Over you? Oh, please." She rolled her eyes.

He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "And much as I want to argue with you for the rest of the day, I'd rather much do this." He pulled on her arms suddenly, catching her off guard so she stumbled on her feet and found herself flush against his front. His arms came around her and she didn't even fight it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling slyly.

Shocking both herself and Draco, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him before he could kiss her. She pulled away after a few moments. "Malfoy," she whispered. "What are we doing?"

"I believe it's called kissing. Snogging, if you will." He stole another kiss.

Pulling away, she laughed huskily. "We were supposed to be just friends."

"I know but—"

"But what?"

"It's up to you, Hermione."

She didn't pretend that she didn't know what he was talking about. She loved that he was considering her feelings on whatever—this—was. Recently he seemed to be imposing himself in her schedule, suddenly appearing during her lunch break or waiting for her at the end of her shift.

And she hadn't been lying when she said that she appreciated his thoughtfulness. Truth be told, Draco Malfoy can be romantic. He just hated to admit it so he mainly covers it up with being an annoying prat but she didn't mind—because she wasn't the least bit romantic and she would rather trade insults or exchange banters to show her affections.

It had been what she hated about her relationship with Oliver Wood. He was the type of man who would take a woman out on candlelit dinners, romantic broom rides during sunset, showing up on her doorstep with a bouquet of red roses, etc. She _hated_ scented candles. She _hated_ roses. She _hated_ flying on broomsticks. He was just too damn romantic that she sometimes wondered how she hadn't barfed from it all.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay what?"

In response, she kissed him again, more intense than before. They stumbled on a couch, instinctively moving to allow every part of their bodies to touch, to press, to be together. Draco's hands were molded to her bottom and Hermione's hands were playing with his hair, occasionally one would trail down to his chest. Their mouths were hot and seeking, taking but still hungering.

The feelings that evoked from this encounter had them pulling away from each other wide-eyed. Yes, they wanted each other but they never thought that it could be this—_passionate_ or was that too tame a word?

The wall clock chimed and it was three in the afternoon.

"_Bloody hell_," Draco cursed under his breath and gently moved Hermione away from him. He combed through his hair and adjusted his clothes, carefully trying to hide her effect on him. He looked at Hermione who was still on the couch, hand over her heart and she was staring at him with her lips parted. He groaned and leaned over and kissed her again. "It seems that I can't get enough of you," he said when they parted.

Hermione flushed. "Wh-what—t-that was—"

"Unexpected," he finished for her.

"Exactly." She nodded.

"I've got to get going or else Liebeck will have my arse." He hesitated. "I don't want you having any second thoughts."

Finally regaining decorum, she stood to stand in front of her. "You must not know about me, Malfoy. Now get to work before you get in trouble." She kissed him softly on the cheek, something she had never done before. A little embarrassed, she stepped away from him again. "I'll see you at my flat tonight and we'll talk again then."

"Yes. Talk." He winked at her suggestively.

She grumbled and cleaned up the mess they left on her table. Silently, he helped her and they worked for a few moments in silence.

Draco couldn't delay his departure any longer. He gave her one last kiss—a devastatingly, soft but deep kiss leaving her weak in the knees—and as he opened the door of her office, he turned back asked, "Are we together, Granger?"

She pondered over it for a moment, recalling a similar question except it had been an inquiry of acceptance of friendship. "I guess we are, Malfoy."

He shot her a crooked smile and closed the door behind him. He was sexually frustrated but he didn't care at the moment. People were still whispering and staring but he didn't care. Hell had officially frozen over because he was with Hermione Granger. Much as he loved his parents in his own twisted way, they were most probably rolling in their graves.

Meanwhile inside the room, Hermione sat there wondering what she was getting herself into. She hadn't planned on making a decision that day, but when he had said that it was up to her, she just couldn't help herself. He really was sweet beneath that indifferent demeanor and she really liked that. And of course when he had asked of they were together and she already knew she was a goner.

Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy: well, who would have thought?

Maybe some part of her had seen it coming, that their so-called friendship had been a disguise and that they were really courting each other in a way. Like Ginny had said, their friendship consisted of couples do when they were together. She should have read all those signs and read between the lines but it seemed that he was just as clueless as her.

The second thought that came to her was what would her friends think? Although Ginny and Harry seemed to be alright with her friendship with Malfoy, she couldn't see them all chummy with him as she had been which was the reason she made a huge effort not to let their paths cross.

Especially _Ron_! After their relationship, Ron still held a special place in her heart. He was the most difficult person she had ever known and that was saying something. Much as she loved Ginny and Harry, she still valued Ron's opinion over theirs and she wasn't ready to lose his friendship.

She just had to make sure their paths would never cross. It was a good thing that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and the wedding plans had kept him quite busy.

But then it wasn't not like they would last. No, definitely not. Draco Malfoy wasn't the type to affiliate himself in a long-term relationship and she wasn't the type to indulge in short-term affairs.

They were doomed.

But then he smiled that crooked smile and she could have sworn her heart melted on the spot. He looked really boyish and very different from the Malfoy she used to know and the Malfoy she had come to know.

_Merlin_, when had she become such a _sap_? She groaned. _Draco Malfoy, what have you done to me_?

Suddenly she recalled the way when he sometimes stared at her during meal times, when he thoughtfully rubs the back of her neck when she was stressed, when he knows to back off when she was being moody and a little more other things that seemed to slip through her.

Why hadn't she seen it before? Was she the last to know?

She remembered when he had mentioned that sex symbol, Serena St. Jules, had asked him out. She _might_ have been a little jealous. She remembered when she saw him at the party with his co-worker—Kathleen? Kaitlyn? She couldn't remember—and she was _somewhat_ disgruntled but when she and Viktor came to say hello and caught snippets of their conversation or rather argument, she couldn't help the triumph that had seemed to seep through her.

She remembered their first kiss. She could taste the hint of firewhiskey on his tongue and the feel of his soft mouth against hers and the way he nipped at her lips making her all hot and bothered.

_Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all._

* * *

**Author's Note**

I understand that I may have jumped a few details in the story but here are a couple points that may help you understand this chapter more.

1) During their platonic relationship, Draco and Hermione took their lunches and/or teas in the fifth floor of St. Mungo's. He wasn't aware of the other people's stare and it helped that he was in Hermione's presence considering the lot are terrified of her so they tried to avoid her as much as possible.

2) In this chapter, Draco ventured in St. Mungo's alone and so he had only realized that people are gossiping about him.

There you go. However, I will tackle these points in the next couple of chapters! We will know more about who Hermione Granger is today (in this fic) as a healer so stay tuned!


	10. Chapter 10

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 10**

Draco woke up in a foul mood the next day despite the elation he felt when Hermione finally acknowledged the two of them as "together". She cancelled out on their evening due to the fact that she needed to extend her shift at St. Mungo's because of some crap he hadn't bothered to remember. She was unable to go home and was currently sleeping in the hospital after her 24-hour shift. The bloody hospital was killing her! And to top it all off, he had said yes to an invitation with his old Slytherin mates for a little get together that evening therefore he won't be able to see her the whole day.

He let the day pass by barely concentrating on the research on a new potion the company had come up with. Thankfully he had nothing to brew that day or else he might have blown up something again.

He should have felt a little happy that he was meeting his friends again after years and years of being separated from them. Truth be told he would rather spend the evening with Hermione.

He was rather a little peeved when he was bombarded with hugs from Pansy and Daphne when he showed up on the doorstep of Blaise Zabini's old home. _Surprise, surprise,_ Serena was also present. He went on a proper date with her on Hermione's advice and he found her rather to be a bit of a bore in terms of conversations and little too forward for his taste. He was old-fashioned and he preferred to do the pursuing. And so when Serena boldly wrapped her arms around his neck and peered up at him through her lashes with a pout, he was a little repulsed.

"You never wrote me after our date," Serena said huskily, appealingly but he was unaffected. "I thought we had a rather nice time, don't you?"

Draco recoiled from the finger that made circles on his chest and withdrew her arms from around him. He back away to Pansy's side, ignoring the evil smile on his old friend's face. "I—uh, I'm a very busy man. Sorry," he muttered, not sorry at all. "I believe Blaise is calling for me."

He all but ran to his mates, but not before muttering _bitch_ to Pansy who was snorting with laughter at his side.

Blaise Zabini was an arrogant person, who looked down on nearly everyone and everything which was why they got along in the first place during their Hogwarts days. Like everyone else, he had seemed to mellow down but he still held the same opinion in regards to muggles and muggleborns. Draco was still unsure of the others still share the same opinion as he.

"Draco," Blaise greeted, his dark eyes, cool and assessing. "Glad you can make it."

"Me too," Draco lied. "So everyone's present then?" Everyone indicated Zabini and his wife, Nott and Juliet, Flint, Pansy, Daphne and Serena.

Blaise shook his head. "I believe there are still others who are coming. Pansy and the other girls seemed to turn this into a reunion of sorts. Goyle and Millicent—they married. Did you know?"

"No," Draco gasped out accompanied by a short bark of laughter.

An amused smile graced Blaise's face, breaking the cool expression. "Yes. I think it was a little over two years ago. They have a baby on the way, I believe."

The tension broke and the two of them conversed in general topics and even delved into a short discussion on what happened in the aftermath of the war. After that, Draco inquired about his marriage. He met Roslynn Burke during a brief stay in Scotland. Roslynn became an acquaintance and they had gotten together when she moved here to England. Later, they were joined by Flint and Nott and the lot of them engaged in a conversation on Quidditch mainly.

When Goyle and Millicent made an appearance, he had to stop himself from staring. They both looked a lot better than before. They both had lost weight and they seemed to be happy together, always touching each other. He couldn't stop the shudder that went through him when Millicent bit on Goyle's earlobe.

During dinner, Draco found himself sitting between Serena and Theo. He constantly engaged Theo and Juliet who was sitting on Theo's other side, in conversation to avoid his other seatmate.

He knew it was coming when Juliet asked about Hermione and it seemed silence fell upon the whole dinner table.

"She's doing great," he said to Juliet, ignoring the sharp look from Zabini. "A little caught up with work in St. Mungo's though."

"Oh yes," Juliet sighed. "She works too hard."

Draco didn't say anything before he revealed anything. But it was too late, because Pansy leaned forward, who was seated across from him, asked, "You still see Granger after Theo's party?"

"Yes. Problem?" He asked tightly.

She shook her head.

Tension filled the dinner table and the girls tried to break through it with their incessant chatter, Goyle and Millicent though seemed oblivious. He decided to stay silent the rest of the evening. When the others engaged him in conversation, he was curt except for Theo, Juliet and Daphne. Zabini, Flint, and Pike (who had arrived during dinner) pointedly ignored him. Serena and Pansy avoided him.

He could almost hear their thoughts—_Blood traitor!_ _Scum! Filth! _Funnily enough, he didn't seem to mind. He kept his head high and let himself be amused in Theo's and Juliet's antics and conversed with Daphne whose opinion had wavered after the war. Draco was disappointed in Pansy. He was actually counting on her support.

The goodbyes were less warm than the welcomes. It was only a little after nine in the evening. He left together with Theo, Juliet and Daphne and they decided to have a nightcap in Rosa Lee Teabag in Diagon Alley. As they sat in a cozy booth, the men ordered butterbeer and the women, tea.

"I'm sorry for the way they acted," Daphne told Draco somberly.

Draco waved a dismissive hand. "I don't really care, Daphne. I think it's better if I cut off ties with them since I'm pretty much involved seriously with Hermione."

Juliet squealed. Theo stared. Daphne beamed.

"Oh my goodness!" Juliet gushed. "I've seen this coming! What did I tell you, Theo, love? What did I tell you?" She clapped her hands excitedly.

"No offense, Malfoy, but really, _you and_ _Hermione Granger_?"

"Me and Hermione Granger," Draco confirmed, unable to prevent the smirk that crept up in his face.

"Draco," Daphne said carefully. "This isn't some ploy is it?"

He glared at Daphne. "No, it's not."

Daphne smiled then. "I know we haven't been close friends, Draco. But I wish you'd believe me if I tell you I find this all absolutely _romantic_!" She and Juliet giggled together. "You know their history, Juliet?"

"I've heard the gist of it. But as all of you know that I'm a few years behind you at Hogwarts, I think you'd all like to know that _a lot_ of Gryffindors and Slytherins are shacked up."

"What!" chorused the three former Slytherins in pure unaltered shock.

Juliet laughed at their expressions. "It was a joke," she added. "The rivalry is still as strong as ever. But me being a Hufflepuff, I really wanted them all to get along well. I tried really hard at working on inter-house unity when I was head girl, but you know, it never really worked."

Draco rolled his eyes at her. Theo patted her hand gently. Daphne giggled.

Draco couldn't help but notice at the very apparent change in Daphne Greengrass. She was probably the most changed of them all. She used to be a part of Pansy's old gang who bullied other girls, made fun of the younger students and in fact, Daphne was one of the more _loose_, to put it lightly, girls in Hogwarts. He remembered that she had been seen with a number of Slytherin boys over the years. He hadn't noticed that she was pretty before but now, she truly was as she threw her head back in laughter at something Juliet had said.

"It's like a forbidden love story," Daphne was saying and he just now realized that they were laughing about him and Hermione.

He glowered at the two women. "Make fun of your own boyfriends and leave me alone." It went ignored so he resigned and spoke with Theo. They talked about what happened earlier and they chose to make light of it vowing silently to avoid further complications in their relationships.

Theo also revealed that they weren't exactly good friends with Juliet as they had been letting on because she was a halfblood and was in Hufflepuff. He also revealed that Daphne's boyfriend was a muggleborn which shocked Draco.

The chimes by the door indicated that there was someone entering the teashop. It went unnoticed by the group but there was an unmistakable annoyingly loud voice that drifted throughout the tiny shop.

"_But Hermione—_!_" _The voice was saying.

"_Not another word, Ronald,_" Hermione's voice when she was annoyed cut him off.

The four of them turned and indeed, saw the two of them moving towards a seat near the window. Draco tried to brush off the jealousy but was unable to contain it when he saw Weasley clasped her hand in his.

"Come on, let's say hi," Juliet said, but Draco didn't hear her because he was already standing in front of the two friends.

"Weasley," Draco greeted curtly, eyeing their joined hands cryptically.

"Malfoy."

"Draco!" Hermione stood up in surprise, letting go of Ron's hand. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with your friends." She seemed nervous.

His eyes narrowed at her. "I am." He motioned to the table he just vacated but the occupants were already on their way to their table. "Say hello to Juliet, love." He added the endearment just to see how Weasley would react.

As expected, he flushed red in anger.

A smile graced Hermione's face as her gaze fell upon Juliet, Theo and Daphne, not noticing her friend. She greeted them softly and re-introduced them to Ron. He greeted the women cordially but he merely nodded curtly to Theo.

"Well this is famous," Juliet said. "Why don't we have a joined table? Come on, it will be fun."

No one agreed that it would be fun but they assented and soon they were seated in a large circular table. The men were silent as the girls conversed animatedly. Hermione was aware of the tension but she deliberately ignored it. She was however, surprised at the open friendliness of the former Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass, because during the Theo and Juliet's engagement party they didn't acknowledge each other.

Theo then engaged Ron Weasley in a conversation. Draco remained silent but was very aware of the redhead's constant gaze on him and that annoyed him greatly. So just to spite him, Draco took Hermione's hand and entwined their fingers. And to his shock, Hermione let him. Smirking slightly, he then opened Hermione's hand and let his thumb trace random shapes. She wriggled her hand and he stopped. He didn't really want to push her. He pretended to listen to the girls' conversation.

He watched Hermione instead as she listened to what Juliet was saying (she really was a talkative girl). He didn't care that she went here with Weasley anymore, but rather was very glad that he found himself in her presence.

She laughed at over something Juliet had said and he couldn't help himself. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss right below her ear. And then another, lingering one. She drew in a sharp breath and looked at him warningly.

It wasn't lost on the others. The two other girls giggled, Theo smirked, and Weasley was red-faced again. He looked ready to blow up. Hermione saw her friend's expression and she stood up from her seat.

"I'm a little thirsty; I think I'm getting some tea. Anyone?" She offered. The others shook their heads and she turned to Draco. "Come with me?" She asked lightly, but her eyes showed that she was furious.

He followed her to the front of the store.

"Damn it, Malfoy," she whispered frantically. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing!"

"I'm not doing anything, Hermione," he responded lazily. "But tell me first, what are you doing here with _him_?"

"I was going to talk to him about us and he loves the cupcakes here so I thought that might soften him up a bit. I don't really want to be cross with him over us."

"Why do you care what he thinks?" He asked spitefully.

"Because he's my _best friend_."

"It shouldn't matter anyway. No one else should matter. _Especially Weasley_," he emphasized.

Hermione refrained from retorting that Ron was special to her but no one really understood their relationship so she decided to stay silent because he might misinterpret it. She sighed. She wasn't in the mood to put up a fight. He probably wouldn't even understand anyway.

"Just don't bait him, alright? He hasn't even acknowledged our friendship, much less a relationship."

Draco grimaced. "Fine," he spat out and then his voice softened. "One kiss and I'll lay off. Come on, he's not looking."

Hermione rolled her eyes but acquiesced. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. "Better?"

"No," he groaned out. He yanked him to her and planted a big one on her lips. He released her, a smirk on his face. "Now, let's get your tea. What's your fancy?"

Of course Draco lied. He was very much aware that Weasley was looking right at them when they were talking. The last part of his question was lost on Hermione because Weasley started for them, very red in the face and shouting out curses.

"What the bloody hell are you doing snogging him, Hermione? You told us you two were just friends! I can't believe you've been feeding us bullshit all this time. You two are shagging, aren't you? I thought you know better than that, Hermione—!"

"How dare you, Ronald Weasley! How dare you! It's as if you don't know me at all! You've known me for nineteen years and this—this is your opinion of me?"

"Well, I thought I knew you but then you shack up with Malfoy—"

"I'm not shacking up with him as you eloquently put it!"

"How else can I put it—!"

"For once in your life, be mature! What will you say next—that I'm fraternizing with the enemy?"

"You _are_ fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Oh, shut it, Ronald! We're thirty years old, not fourteen!"

"Well, I'm twenty-nine and you're thirty!"

Upon hearing her friend's very pathetic comeback, Hermione had lost her patience and she whipped out her wand. Draco stepped in and grabbed it before she could do any damage to Weasley. He felt a hint of guilt causing a rift between the two. He dragged Hermione away and outside the teashop.

"Hermione, come on, stop." Draco grunted as she fought against his hold. "Calm down," he said in a deep baritone voice, to soothe her. "Calm down."

She made a few half-hearted attempts before she collapsed against him weakly. "He's always like this," she said sadly. "Before we came in I already gave him a hint. I told him that we were more than friends now. I told him to give you a chance but he really does have the emotional range of a teaspoon and so he didn't want to accept it."

"You should really face the fact that I'm never going to be all chummy with your lot. I'll tolerate them for you but nothing more, alright?"

She gave a resigned sigh. She already knew that. "Thank you for handling this better than Ronald. Anyway, he's only looking out for me. He's still convinced that you're still you know, _you_. He'll come around soon."

Draco peered inside the teashop and saw no redhead, he must have left. "Well, I have a confession to make. I kissed you just to see how he'll react."

"I know," Hermione moaned.

"You do?" He gaped at her.

"I wanted to see how he'll react as well."

He grinned at her. "You're evil, Granger. Now, let's get you home."

After bidding Draco's friends goodbye, they apparated to Hermione's flat. He waited patiently as she freshened up. He tucked her in just like a child when she told him she was going to sleep.

He turned to leave the room but he was stopped by her quiet voice, loud in the stillness of the room.

"Stay."

Draco didn't need to be asked twice. He stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers before climbing in beside her. He pulled Hermione's back flushed against his front and clasped her to him.

"Mmm. You make a good teddy bear, Malfoy."

She was asleep before he could say anything, judging by the sound of her steady even breathing. He buried his face in her hair, delighting in her smell. He was accustomed to sleeping alone but she felt so good against him.

_I could get used to this_.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Ron has always been a hothead, isn't he? Don't worry, I won't make him a jerk.


	11. Chapter 11

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 11**

Hermione woke up to a ticklish sensation in the back of her neck. She reached around and tried to get rid of it. But it was back a second later. Suddenly, she was aware of a male arm thrown across her torso. Before she could scream, she suddenly remembered that she had asked Draco to stay the night.

Then the events of the previous night came over her. Her argument with Ron had been witnessed by Theodore Nott, Daphne Greengrass and Juliet Morrasut. She was more mortified than indignant over Ron's actions. She gave Ron a month at most before he would show up on her doorstep to apologize. It had always been like that before they got together, when they were together and after they broke up.

She clutched the arm that was wrapped around her in a protective way. She noticed that Draco deliberately baited Ron and she was supposed to feel angry about that but she wasn't and she wasn't exactly sure why.

Draco shifted but remained asleep.

A strange noise filled her ears and she couldn't help snigger quietly but then the sound consisted, sometimes loud and sometimes soft. She started cackling loudly.

The sound abruptly stopped and he groaned. "Bloody hell, Granger, go back to sleep."

She rolled away from him, shouting with laughter. "Malfoy! I can't believe it! _You snore_!"

Draco sputtered and he was now wide awake. "I do not snore, Granger," he growled as he sat up to glare at her. When she continued to laugh in his face, he tackled her. "Stop laughing this instant!"

"Draco Malfoy snores!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and she burst into another round of giggles. He yelled back something incoherent and he removed himself off of her and slammed out of the bedroom.

When she was finished laughing, she followed him to the living room where he was collapsed on the couch with a pillow over his face. She removed it gingerly and peered down at him.

"Not a morning person, huh?" She grinned.

"No," he replied vehemently.

She squealed in surprise as he grabbed her around the waist so she was on top of him. She made half-hearted attempts to escape but she was still weak from her bouts of laughter earlier and she was still a little disoriented from having just woken up.

"It's only six in the morning, Granger. It's too early to cause such ruckus. And also, I don't trust anyone who laughs before nine in the morning."

"Oh no, Malfoy. I'm usually cranky in the morning too but—but when I heard you—"

"Yeah, yeah. I bloody snore. So what? You talk in your sleep."

"I do not!" She cried indignantly.

"Yes, you do!" He smirked triumphantly. "Four in the morning and muttering 'no, no, you incompetent fool, you do not use _episkey_ for deep gashes.' My, oh my."

Hermione blushed and she slapped his chest. "Whatever, Malfoy. Let me up."

"No." He tightened his arms around her. "Kiss me and _maybe _I'll let you up. You interrupted my beauty sleep and you made fun of me."

"No, let me up and I'll leave you alone so you can lick your wounds."

"I'd rather you lick it." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Pervert."

"Excuse me? I do recall that you were the one who suggested it."

She rolled her eyes and struggled against his body, wriggling nonstop.

He gritted his teeth. "Hermione, stop or I won't stop with just a kiss."

She stopped moving. "Sorry," she muttered, blushing faintly.

"It's alright. Your making fun of me seemed to have killed my libido."

"You're going to be the death of me, Granger." He groaned before her lips came to rest upon his.

Hermione pulled away after a few moments, a sober thought running through her head. She was frowning as she laid her head down upon his chest. "You know, sometimes, I'm scared to find that this is all a farce."

"What is?"

"Us. You and me. We've never actually parted in good terms several years ago, but several years later, we see each other and we were suddenly like old friends. And then we're here…"

"It's because you're a bloody good person," he responded gruffly. "I'm still a Death Eater to the eyes of other people but _you _gave me the benefit of the doubt. "

She smiled softly against his chest. "We _are_ thirty years old, Draco. To bring up the past, call each other names and whatnot would be rather an immature thing to do."

"But there's too much history…"

"Oh, shut up, will you? We were just kids. And the past is dead as far as I'm concerned."

There was a pause. "The past is never dead," he whispered.

She sat up gingerly to look into his eyes. She was stunned to see them look a bit haunted. She knew what she went through and had been able to get past it. She wasn't sure what to say at this point because she didn't know what he went through and she didn't want to push. At least, not yet. "Let's make a deal."

He blinked. "A deal?"

"Yes, a deal. We focus on what's now and what's to come not where we came from."

He was silent still for a long moment, his intense gaze piercing hers. It felt like an eternity when he finally smiled at her. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"It's a deal. No past. Just now."

Hermione felt a burst of happiness inside her. She kissed him, intensely, deeply, her tongue meeting out to meet his. Her kiss was so passionate that Draco pushed her away in surprise. "Hermione, if I had known you were going to react like this—"

She cut him off with another kiss. This time he was prepared and he gave as good as he got.

There was just something about Draco that she was unable to resist. Maybe it was the vulnerability she had witnessed. Maybe it was the smile he bestowed upon her. Maybe it was the fact that they were the last two people who would ever get together in this kind of way and that thrilled her. Maybe the few barriers he had put up against the world were slowly crumbling because of _her_.

Or maybe she was starting to feel more than friendship and physical attraction for him, and she was finally acknowledging it.

She moaned when his tongue massaged hers masterfully. "D-Draco, we can't do this now. It's almost seven in the morning and we have to work."

He groaned in annoyance and his head fell back against the pillow. She removed herself away from him and he muttered a curse at the loss. She was right. They were expected to work both at eight in the morning. She disappeared inside a door adjacent to the bed, which was the bathroom.

It took a lot of effort but he finally got out of her bed. He waved a hand over the messy bed to fix it. An odd noise was coming from the bathroom, louder than the sound of the water. She was singing and quite terribly at that. Rolling his eyes, he walked outside her bedroom to make coffee.

Draco was the worst housekeeper in the history of worse housekeepers ever. The only decent thing he could manage was coffee. He had two house elves to serve him. One makes food and the other cleans for him, which Hermione still scolded him over, always sprouting her S.P.E.W. speech but no matter what she did or said, he would not pay them or give them time offs. At least, he didn't beat them.

When the kettle finally whistled, Hermione was already dressed in healer robes and she appeared in her flat's tiny kitchen.

Wordlessly, she walked up to the cupboards and grabbed two coffee mugs. Draco poured the brewed coffee for the two of them.

Hermione was smiling secretly to herself as he sat on a stool drinking coffee. They were acting so much like a couple who had been together for years instead of three days.

"Breakfast?"

He looked weary. "Just make sure they're edible."

She laughed and grabbed eggs, cheese and milk from her refrigerator. He knew that she was a terrible cook, but she was quite certain that she can fix a decent plate of omelet.

* * *

Hermione was on a roll today. She had not snarled at a single trainee healer today. She was smiling when she flooed to St. Mungo's. She greeted whoever she passed by a cheerful "good morning" earning wide-eyed stares.

At the emergency room, she was usually intense and all-business, but today she was calm and simply fixed whatever needed to fixed, treated the patients with the utmost care and even bid them soft goodbyes, telling them to take care next time as they left.

On the way to the intensive care unit on the fifth floor, she literally bumped into Healer Ansley's healer-in-training, Edward Sturgis, causing her to stumble against a wall.

"Oh sweet mother of Merlin! I'm s-so s-sorry, H-healer Granger. I did not see you coming. I swear. I'm sorry," Sturgis stammered, a few drops of sweat beading at his brow as Hermione straightened from the wall, adjusting her hair that had come out from its bun. His eyes were wide as he waited for her reaction.

To his utmost and utter surprise, she smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, John. It happens. Just be careful the next time, okay?" With that, she continued on her way to the intensive care unit, leaving the younger man staring at her in astonishment.

"She called me John. My name is Edward," he spoke to no one in particular. Shaking his head, he continued on his way. "I rather like this Healer Granger. I hope she stays."

* * *

Trainee Healer Deirdre sat in the fifth floor, sipping a cup of tea on her break. She did believe that Hermione Granger was one of the best wonders in terms of the Medical Wizarding World. She was four years behind her during Hogwarts, but she was in Ravenclaw. Almost everyone in Ravenclaw hated Hermione Granger because she was titled the "brightest witch of her age" but Deirdre Bronagh was an exception. Hermione Granger was more than brains, unlike some of the Ravenclaws she had come to know. It was a shame that her interests had fallen under Potions and Plant Poisoning, so she was unable to work under Hermione Granger's supervision.

In the middle of the year was the start of her training in St. Mungo's under Healer Fairfax, but she was looking forward more to meeting the great Healer Granger but everyone else was dreading her. She was a mean bitch, they said. She was ruthless, dominating and at times can be scary especially if one had the unfortunate mistake of messing a single incantation up. For Hermione Granger, there was no room for mistakes.

Recently, she had been noticing on Healer Granger's change in demeanor. Not everyone had been as observant as she, but Healer Granger has changed. It had a little something to do with Draco Malfoy and the day he came to the hospital looking for her. Healer Granger had been in a foul mood all morning but she had left the hospital that day smiling.

Halfway through her cup, the woman who occupied her thoughts barged in the tearoom carrying her own mug of tea.

"Hi Deirdre! Having a good day?" Healer Granger asked brightly.

Hiding her shock, she put down her tea and smiled at the older woman. "Yes, it's been a quiet day."

"I hope it will be like this for the rest of week." She giggled. "Anyway, I hear Healer Fairfax is submitting his semi-retirement at the end of the month. Are you ready?"

"I'm not sure," Deirdre admitted softly. "I feel rather apprehensive on this position but I'm confident with myself. I know I can be an excellent healer."

"I felt the same way when I took over for this position," Hermione responded. "But then I remembered that I had been waiting for this all my life. I decided that I wouldn't let a few uncertainties to get in the way of what I want." She smiled at Deirdre.

Hermione had meant those words to relate to work. But it seemed it backfired because as she uttered those words, she found herself relating the last sentence to her new-found relationship with Draco Malfoy.

Deirdre hesitated. "Healer Granger, uh, there's a gossip going around for a while now. Is it true that you're dating Draco Malfoy? Not that it's any of my business; you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Hermione looked surprised. "Yes, but only recently."

"Well, for the past few months he's been seen with you a couple of times in this tearoom. We figured that you were visiting over his former condition? It's not now, is it? Because I bumped into to him one day and he was looking for you and it didn't look like he came to talk about medical conditions."

"It's nobody's business but mine," Hermione said stiffly.

Deirdre paled a little; she had never experienced the wrath of Healer Granger but she was afraid that she was about to now. Deirdre nodded frantically. "It's nobody's business," she agreed. "But happiness suits you, Healer Granger," she added softly.

"Excuse me?"

"When I started my training here everyone said a lot of unpleasant things about you."

Hermione pursed her lips. "I am aware of that."

"But not anymore."

"Really?"

"Yes." Deirdre smiled. "You look happy. Especially today! You were greeting everyone a good day and now I'm drinking tea and having a conversation with _you_!"

Hermione frowned. "I am human, am I not?"

"Not a regular one, you're not," Deirdre teased. "You're _the_ Hermione Granger."

"I'm just me, Deirdre," she replied somberly. "I'm not what the papers made out to be. I'm just a girl trying to prove my worth in this world. I'm a muggleborn and I have fought for my right."

"Healer Granger," the younger healer's tone was the same as Hermione's. "You have done that and more. Don't undervalue yourself. Is this why you're like—this—to the other healers?"

Hermione laughed suddenly. "No. It kills me to admit it but I can be a bit bossy."

"A bit? That's quite an understatement, Granger," a new voice piped in. Draco plopped himself on a seat beside Hermione, grinning at Deirdre. "She's bossy, domineering, and heavy-handed, the list goes on. I have more synonyms for you if you want to hear them all."

Hermione glared at him spitefully and elbowed him on the ribs, emitting a sound of pain. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Surprise! I haven't had lunch yet and I thought I'd drop in to see if you have."

"I have." Hermione turned to Deirdre. "You've met, haven't you?"

"Of course," Draco replied before the young woman could. "She's come by the office a few times. She's dating my boss—who will be here in—three, two—"

On cue, the sandy-haired man that looked a bit past thirty years old came into view. He came to sit beside Deirdre who was seated cross Hermione and Draco. "Hullo, love," he greeted as he bent to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek whose face turned beet red at the public display of affection in front of her superior. "Healer Granger," he greeted, smiling at her. He then turned again to his girlfriend. "Ready?"

Deirdre nodded. "Healer Granger, would you like to accompany us to lunch?"

"I already—"

"Course she will," Draco said cheekily.

Hermione glared at him for his high-handedness. She hated when people made decisions for her without her consent. She allowed herself to be pulled towards the doors. Draco wrapped his arm around her waist. She blushed as she saw a few healers staring at the four of them with astonished looks on their faces.

With his arm around her, she felt comforted and she had forgotten why she had been annoyed at him in the first place.


	12. Chapter 12

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 12**

She remembered Dumbledore stating sometime in 1992 that, "it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies but a lot more to stand up to your friends."

Hermione dreaded this day. She had felt a similar case of anxiousness when Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters, Snatchers, etc. had shown up breaking down the enchanted wards they had put up in Hogwarts which was quite ridiculous—she had gone through so much and she was a bit scared of coming clean to her friends.

Harry had owled her around nine in the morning; inviting her for dinner and insisting to bring Draco Malfoy over. Of course, Ron had blabbed, what else did she expect? Draco didn't want to go but she managed to persuade him in the end. She guessed that he was a bit apprehensive as well; she remembered the letter he had sent to Harry. He must have been a little embarrassed about that today.

If Draco hadn't been grumbling on the way to 12 Grimmauld Place, she might have been the one to do the grumbling.

After the war, Harry and Ginny had settled in the House of Black but not before the curses and enchantments had been lifted from the place. Most of the family heirlooms had been destroyed due to the fact that they were mostly cursed. The portraits had been destroyed, especially the shrunken heads of former house elves that were mounted on plaques. The home was bright and quite homely, thanks to Ginny, who was a great as a housekeeper like her mother, Molly Weasley. She stopped working when their second son, Albus was born.

It was apparent that Draco had never been to his family's ancestral home, considering he _was_ a Black. He showed no surprise but apprehension was clear on his face when Hermione rang the doorbell.

"It's okay," Hermione assured him.

He didn't say anything but stepped closer to her when the front door opened and revealed a grinning Harry Potter. Well, his smile was directed to his friend but that didn't help any matters.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted after kissing Hermione on the cheek. To Draco's surprise, he offered a hand to shake.

Draco shook his hand for exactly two seconds. "Potter."

"Please come in."

"Draco," Hermione said as they walked through the long hallway, lit by a beautiful chandelier. "Play nice."

"Hermione, I wish you'd stop worrying," Draco said seriously, giving her a look. "I won't hex them or beat them up for no absolute reason. I am a dignified man of twenty-nine."

On one side of the hallway was the dining room where Harry had already disappeared to a few moments ago. Hermione and Draco saw that Ron and his fiancé were already sitting there, talking. They both looked up when Hermione and Draco entered.

Ron glowered at Draco but didn't say anything at first. His tone was cheerful when he and Dawn greeted her. His tone was curt when he greeted Draco. Hermione introduced Draco to their other friend, Dawn Winspear. He greeted her politely, instead of being his "annoying charming self" to women as titled by Hermione. He didn't really want to egg Weasley on by flirting with his fiancé.

The dining table was already set up in a fancy setting. Tall candles placed on beautiful silver candelabras.

Harry was fixing drinks at the far end of the room. Hermione pulled Draco to the kitchen where she had guess Ginny was. Sure enough, Ginny was there bent over a pan that was emitting a wonderful buttery garlic smell.

"Smells good," Draco commented.

Ginny whirled around and her eyes widened in surprise. "So you came," she grinned. "I half expected you wouldn't show up."

"He almost didn't. I had to convince him," Hermione said as she came forward to kiss her friend on the cheek in greeting.

"How did you do it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Potter's wife," Draco drawled suggestively.

Hermione whacked him on the shoulder. "She does have a name, you know," she scolded. "Anyway, Gin, do you want some help?"

"No, thanks, dear. We want to make the dinner as edible as possible," Ginny teased, laughing lightly.

Draco snorted with laughter.

Hermione ignored him and huffed. "Ginny," she whined, pouting.

"I'm joking, Hermione. Dinner is almost ready. Now, shoo! The kids are in the drawing room. They've been waiting for their auntie."

Hermione practically ran from the room, leaving Draco standing in the middle of the room awkwardly. "She did that on purpose, didn't she?" Draco guessed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm afraid so, Malfoy. Maybe we can talk a little bit, sit down if you want," Ginny offered. "I'm not one for small talk," she continued speaking when Draco sat down on a table near her and she sat opposite him. "Frankly, Malfoy, you're not my first choice of man for my best friend. You're actually my last, even if you claim to be friends. But there's something about you that makes her different."

Draco didn't look surprised when Ginny started speaking about his relationship with her friend. "Different?"

"Yes. Different in a good way, I think. As much as I would like to have her as my sister, she and Ron weren't exactly compatible, per se. She's too smart, too witty and most of the time he didn't understand her. I encouraged her to date Viktor Krum but she didn't really feel 'sparks' when it came to him, if you know what I mean. Now the past few years I thought she and Oliver was a perfect match. I was never more wrong—I won't go into detail, you can ask her if you want, it doesn't bother her anymore. Anyway, I really like to think you're different from him. Like Hermione had said before, you're changed and that you're a good man."

"I'm nowhere near good," Draco said stiffly.

"I agree, but then again I don't know who you are today but Hermione does and I trust her judgment."

"I didn't come here for your approval."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "We just want her to be happy."

"I think she is," he said carefully.

"I can see that she is," she confirmed and then she smiled. "By the way, I heard about the encounter at the teashop. Don't worry your pretty little head over it. It's a Ron and Hermione thing, we learn to ignore it."

A Ron and Hermione thing? Draco didn't like the sound of that but he didn't say anything anymore about the matter. He just nodded.

Ginny stood up from her seat. "I'm glad that you turned out this way, Malfoy. Years ago, if someone would have told me I'm conversing with Draco Malfoy in my kitchen I would probably have them admitted to St. Mungo's."

Draco smirked. "I, for one, would have probably hexed them for creating such a ridiculous notion."

"Now you talk like Hermione," Ginny stared at him like he had grown an additional head. "You can go out now. My interrogation is done. I believe that Harry wants to talk to you."

Draco grimaced. "I should have known," he muttered as he left exited the kitchen and back to the dining room. It was empty and he decided that they were probably in the drawing room. It took him about three minutes when he located the drawing room.

Hermione was seated on the floor against a wall, holding a toy dragon, wriggling it around in front a black-haired boy. She had her back to him. Not for away from her and the kid, was a crib and Draco guessed that there was another child sleeping inside. Weasley was seated on a couch with his fiancé in front of the fire place and they were talking quietly to each other. Potter was standing in front of a wall at the corner of the room.

As if sensing his presence, Potter turned and gestured for him to come forward. Hesitating for the briefest of moments, he came forward but stood a good five feet from where Potter was standing beside him.

The wall showed the Black family tree. "You're crossed out, Malfoy," Harry said without preamble, pointing to a face that seemed to be burnt.

Draco leaned forward and saw his name and above it was an image of him that was burned. He never told Hermione but he was crossed out from both the Black and Malfoy family tree, due to his involvement with muggles. In Bulgaria, he had a few muggle acquaintances that neighbored their estate. His former flames were muggles as well, including his last girlfriend. His parents found and they weren't exactly pleased, to say the least. Despite their current depressive state, they still managed to disown him as their son but couldn't bear even the thought of him cutting off all ties with him.

"I figured as much," Draco said soberly. "I almost didn't recognize this place, until I saw the Black family crest in the dining room."

"It was in a horrible state when we decided to live here. We reformed it to make it more family-friendly," Harry replied, looking pointedly at his son who was still playing with Hermione. He finally looked at Draco. "How was life in Bulgaria?"

He had seen that coming as well. "Fine," Draco replied. "Nothing like home, of course."

"And your parents?"

"Dead," he responded emotionlessly.

"I'm sorry."

Draco looked at him carefully. He saw genuine remorse. "Doesn't matter."

Harry nodded. "Ginny has probably talked to you about Hermione already," he said.

"She did." Draco finally smirked. "Has she always been—I don't know—indiscreet?" He asked, without malice.

"Yes," Harry chuckled.

They didn't say anything anymore. "Well, this has been really awkward," Draco said. "If you don't mind I'd like to chew Granger's ear off for leaving me alone." Without waiting for his response, Draco walked over to Hermione and sat down beside her. "You have some nerve, Granger," he said lightly.

Hermione grinned at him. "James, I'd like you to meet Draco Malfoy."

The boy looked at him curiously. "Are you Auntie Mine's boyfriend?"

"Yes," Draco said bluntly. "What's it to you?"

Hermione gasped. "Malfoy!"

James shrugged his shoulders. "I was just asking."

"How old are you anyway?"

"I'm six. What about you?"

"I'm twenty-nine."

"You're old."

"Your Auntie Mine's older. She's thirty."

"I know," James said simply. "Do you want to play with me?"

Draco almost scoffed but he resisted. "What game?"

"Exploding Snap or Snitch Snatcher? Auntie Mine won't play with me, she hates those games." He pouted at Hermione.

"It's not appropriate for a little boy," Hermione reasoned frantically.

"I'm six, Auntie," James sighed. "Please play with me, mister. She's boring."

"I think I'm beginning to like this kid," Draco surmised as James brought out his Snitch Snatcher! board game. "Call me Draco, James."

* * *

Dinner was an awkward event even though Ginny, Hermione and Dawn tried to make light of it. Draco was very quiet, only speaking when spoken to. Surprisingly, he and Harry were very civil but far from being friendly. Ron, on the other hand, was talkative but pointedly ignoring Draco. James and the year old baby Albus drew laughter from all of the adults. Especially James, since he was a smart kid, quite mischievous.

By the time they had finished eating dinner, Hermione was exasperated and she could not contain her frustration anymore.

"I'm not asking you to be friends with him, Ronald," Hermione said, almost sadly. Beside her, Draco's hand from under the table crept on her knee, squeezed it in comfort. She shot him a small smile that almost seemed sad. "Just accept us."

"Yeah, Weasley," Draco said in the same tone, surprising the other adults. "I don't even know why she cares so much about what you think but it's making her sad as well and I don't want that. I'm not going anywhere, not anytime soon, so you better get your act together."

"They're right, Ron," Ginny put in, but her tone was brighter than the two.

"If Hermione likes him," Harry added, "He must not be so bad now, eh?"

"Actually, Harry, he's still a right prat." Hermione laughed. "He's annoying, really."

"Hey!" Draco complained, pinching a good chunk of flesh on her side.

"Ah!"

"Serves you right you bossy know-it-all!"

"See, he's calling you names!" Ron almost yelled. "How can you _date_ a ferret who calls you names and abuses you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Abuse, Ron? They're being _affectionate_ with each other. And really, ferret? What are we, fourteen?"

"You can't win this, Ron," Dawn said, who was sad because of the way her fiancé was reacting towards his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. "Hermione's a big girl. You should lay off and concentrate on your own wedding plans instead of hindering her happiness." Unexpectedly, she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh, Dawn, no," Ron said, his eyes widening in alarm. "Let's go to the other room and we'll talk." Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her to her feet and they swept from the room, leaving four bewildered adults, a confused six year old and an oblivious one year old.

"Why was Auntie Dawn crying?" James asked from his place beside Harry, breaking the silence.

"We don't know," his mother giggled. "They're quite a pair, aren't they?"

"They sure are," Draco agreed. He turned to his dinner partner on his left. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Did it hurt?" He laid a hand on her side where he pinched her.

"Yes it did, you brute," she admitted, pouting a little bit.

"I'm sorry." His hand massaged her injured side softly. "Don't pout, Hermione, or I'll kiss you, right here in front of your friends."

She pursed her lips suddenly. "Don't do that."

"Then stop pouting." His lips brushed against the shell of her ear suggestively, emitting a small gasp from her.

How can such a simple kiss, not even a real kiss could affect her in such a way? She fought the urge to jump on his lap and kiss him until they turn blue. Of all the men in the world, it was Draco Malfoy who made her react this way. She never felt like this with Oliver and certainly not Ron.

Draco's hand unintentionally brushed against the side of her breast and she gave a small gasp again. Eye to eye, she drew closer to him.

"Oi, you two, get a room, preferably in your own homes," Harry drawled, visibly cringing at their display. "I know you're together and all but I don't really want to witness anything. Especially not in front of my kid!"

Hermione drew away from Draco in embarrassment, blushing deeply, while Draco smirked. Ginny caught his eye and she winked at him, making his smile even more prominent.

Then Ron and his fiancé walked in, with smiles on their faces, their faces a little flushed. They walked back to their place across from Draco and Hermione.

"I'm sorry for being such a git, Hermione," Ron said soberly, his ears turning a bit red. "I don't care who you're with just as long as you're happy. Even if it's Malfoy. Dawn had to knock some sense to me and it sure hurt." He rubbed his hand on his cheek.

"Thank you, Dawn," Hermione told Dawn gratefully and then she shot Ron a glare.

"Yes, well, he's being insufferable. Thankfully, my acting skills from theatre back when I was a teenager are still intact." Dawn giggled, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, you fraud!" Hermione and Ginny burst in a series of giggles.

* * *

He avoided Weasley and Potter as much as possible and it seemed that the two seemed to be doing the same. Draco wouldn't have it any other way.

It was only past nine that Sunday evening when Draco grew restless. After their episode during dinner, he was left feeling a little aroused. Beside her on the couch, while she chatted away with the girls, he was silent, just observing her.

Draco wasn't exactly the most handsome man on earth nor was he famous with the ladies. But with Hermione, he felt like he was. Women usually found him conservative, if not a little uptight. With the way she had reacted when he whispered in her ear, it took everything not drag her away from the place and back to his flat where he could have his way with her.

They haven't done anything past groping yet. He didn't fancy himself as an honorable man but damn it, he was trying his hardest on being so. He had told her that it was up to her and that he was at her beck and call when she wanted him. But after tonight, he didn't think he could wait anymore.

He needed her.

Similar to their episode earlier, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Let's go home."

Her eyes held heat when they met his.

She needed him.

* * *

**Warning for the next chapter**

Implicit sexual content


	13. Chapter 13

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 13**

They stood in the middle of his living room. It was dark, their bodies illuminated by the city lights that seeped through the wide panel glasses. Hermione complied with all of Draco's kisses by slipping her arms around his neck, bringing her body flush against his. His hands came around her to mold her to him, to fit her against him. They stood like that for a long time, just kissing her, letting her feed on the wonderful sensations he was inducing.

His senses were filled with her. His tongue as he kissed her tasted something sweet, a taste that was pure Hermione Granger and a hint of the wine she had drunk not twenty minutes ago. He felt her body against his; soft curves but still lean in her small frame. His nostrils filled with her smell that was a cross between tangelo and vanilla.

Did she know what he was doing to him?

He kissed her, but there was no finesse or tenderness but rather an out of control need of hungry lips to claim, to conquer. They burned with fire that raged beyond the limits of reason. This kiss was different from the ones before.

When he pulled away, it was to divulge her from her clothing. Her outfit tonight was simple a simple white tank top tucked inside a high waist black and white polka dotted skirt so he had no trouble removing it from her body. He looked at her clad in lacy underwear and smiled. She was beautiful. She smiled back but it was uncertain, shy even. He shrugged out of his dress shirt which her deft hands had unbuttoned the minute they had apparated to his flat. She tugged his belt loose and unzipped his pants; he was quick to rid of those as well.

They scrutinized each other for a short, delightful moment both in their intimate apparel before Draco yanked her to him and slashed his mouth across hers, his tongue parting hers to plunge inside. He wanted to shout with joy at the feel of her barely covered breasts against his bare chest. He groaned when her tongue came to mate with his. He lifted her up against him, his hands on her bum and practically ran to his bedroom which was thankfully just less than ten steps from where they were standing.

He let her down on the bed. He came down on top of her and grabbed her hands, twining his fingers with hers and spread them out wide. She couldn't move, but she could feel, and what she felt was his chest moving across her nipples, back and forth, electrifying the hard little nubs with just the barest sensual touch. Next he lowered himself to take one sensitive breast into his mouth, gently suckling, or slowly circling his tongue around it. But he wouldn't release her hands, and she felt she would go mad with the need to touch him.

"I want to touch you. Will you let go?" Her words came out in a breathy whisper, her voice low and husky.

He paused, smirking evilly at her. "No."

She moaned in protest.

The small sound was Draco's undoing. "Later. Right now I don't think I can bear it."

Fortunately for her, he had to let go of her hands so he could work on removing her underwear. The moment he let go, she pulled on him frantically. Her bra was gone. When did that happen? His hands were gliding up her legs now, parting them, and making it impossible for her to think of anything else. In a blink of an eye, she was completely bare in his eyes.

He started to pay homage to her breasts, lathing each sensitized peak until she was mindless with wanting. Her back arched, molding her belly to his chest, demanding the contact. Her loins were aching, an inferno of moist heat. He slid up a little more, assaulting her neck with lips that were now scorching, moving toward her ear. When his tongue slipped inside, the jolt was so powerful her body bucked, almost dislodging him, and then settled into a delicious trembling that made her want to curl into him. It wasn't enough.

"Now," she said in the breathless whisper.

"Yes," he groaned.

He was gone for a second but he came back, stretching over her, his hard body pressed against the length of hers, his kisses devouring her neck, her breasts, stoking her with the flames of his desperation.

"Now," she whispered again.

She gasped at the pressure as he settled between her thighs, prolonging the agony for an excruciating moment. She arched against him, felt him enter her. He managed to fill her, a glorious, welcoming fullness that she pushed against, locking her legs around him so she wouldn't lose him. He stroked, slowly at first, and then faster and faster as they reached the point of no return. The tension grew, pulsed, and then finally exploded into blissful oblivion. Their movements slowed until they lay together in a tender respite.

Draco collapsed on her, his own climax draining him so completely that for a while he was too weak to even lift his head. He never experienced anything sex such as that. He was about to tell her but he realized she was out cold. Whether she had fallen into exhausted sleep or had fainted, he wasn't sure. He smiled, a ridiculous boyish smile, smoothing back the wild hair from her cheeks, pleased with himself and her.

* * *

A bright shaft of sunlight pestered her eyelids open. She groaned. She tried to stretch but was unable to because there was a pair of arms around her that kept her trapped. In her sleep-befuddled state, Hermione's heart started beating frantically, when she saw the arm draped around her bare midriff.

Her thoughts flew back to the events last night. She blushed, remembering the way she lost control. He can be quite clumsy, really, in but last night he was graceful like a lithe tiger.

"Good morning."

Hermione turned to the voice, rough from sleep. His eyes were still closed when she was finally facing him.

"Hi," she said in the smallest voice she could master.

One eye popped opened. "Hi yourself." He shifted her and soon she found herself sprawled on top of him.

She shivered, mostly from the contact of their bare limbs and party from the cold air. "Oh, Malfoy, your room is so cold." She furrowed closer to him. She leaned up to look into his eyes. She smiled shyly again. "Last night was…"

"Wonderful? Spectacular? Mind-blowing?"

She agreed silently, but just to tease him, she rolled her eyes and said, "It was okay."

Draco sputtered, pushed her off him, his insecurities reaching its full height. "Okay? Fucking okay? You were the best I ever had and you say it was okay? I'll—" He broke off as soon as she started laughing.

She climbed back on top of him and hugged him. "You're so ridiculous, Draco Malfoy. I was only teasing you. It was wonderful, spectacular—"

"Mind-blowing," he quipped, relaxing against her. "Hey. You fainted."

"I might have," she agreed and she started nibbling on his jaw.

"Keep it up, Hermione, I might find myself in the mood to make you faint again." His hands found the curve of her buttocks, and started moving in a circular motion. He moaned when her lips found a special spot on his neck.

"I'm late for work," she murmured against his skin.

"Call in sick."

She laughed huskily. "I'm a healer and I work in the hospital. I think the best place to be sick is at work."

He pushed against her gently and flipped them over. He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her deeply, his tongue teasing the each corner of her lips. "Stay," he murmured against her lips.

"I can't," she breathed, but she clutched at his back desperately.

"Hmm." From her lips, his lips traveled down to her neck, to her breasts, to her navel, and further down…

Hermione gasped. She grabbed his shoulders to push him away, but found that she couldn't. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move at the attention he showed with his breath, his lips, his tongue… She gasped again and then she moaned when she felt his tongue licking at her bundle of nerves. She wanted to say stop, but she didn't want him to.

"Draco," she whimpered softly as her fingers laced through his soft blond hair. Unable to stop herself, she arched against his mouth repeatedly until she exploded inside, throbbing with a blind white heat under his ministrations. She cried out her pleasure.

When she finally lay still, he moved his head up, his hands slid across her sweat-sleeked skin, his mouth found hers again. He rolled them over and shifted her until she poised above him. She eased herself down and found herself home in that glorious sensation with him. Falling back down, she kissed him, desperate for the taste of him as they moved against each other in reckless abandon.

In the brightly lit room, Draco watched her as her face scrunched up in pleasure. She was so beautiful to him. Why had it taken him so long to realize it? Why waste all those months playing friends with her when she felt and tasted like this? He could watch her like this all day.

Soon there was urgency, the tension began to build again, her muscles clenched as he started to slam his hips up against hers, moving faster and faster, plunging into her until she thought she'd break. They cried out as everything started to spin out of control and they simultaneously shattered into shards of rapturous sensation.

* * *

Hermione arrived in St. Mungo's around eleven. Draco refused to let her go that morning and she almost gave in, but she was a professional and there was no way she could ever let a sex life—a fantastic sex life—to get in the way of her professional life.

What annoyed the hell out of her was the fact that only a few people in the hospital had noticed her absence early in the morning or they chose not to comment on her tardiness.

She was frustrated, because there were merely a few patients, and she didn't want to leave Draco's bed, but she had to because of her work, because many people needed her—which turned out to be quite the opposite. Scowling, she prowled through the hallways of St. Mungo's, taking note of the way the other healers and hospital staff stepped out of her way. She finished her rounds in a jiffy and she barked out orders and assignments to the other healers. She marched to her private office and finished her pile of paperwork.

By the end of the day, she had filed a three to four weeks' vacation leave. It was granted without a single thought. She felt defeated, unneeded and that was the feeling she hated in the entire world.

Besides, a few months ago she had already been planning to take a long vacation since in all the years she started working in St. Mungo's she hadn't been absent; not a single day.

And as expected, Draco was delighted when she told him the news that night when they were sitting on the floor side by side against the couch while eating their favorite Chinese food in front of an open fire in his spacious living room.

"Now we can have unlimited sex," he said gleefully.

Hermione gasped her dismay and she smacked him hard at the back of his head.

Draco pouted as he massaged the back of his head. "I was only joking, Granger. You didn't have to be so violent. And that actually hurt, you brute!"

She glared at him. "You can't have unlimited sex anyway, you have to work or James will have your arse."

"I don't really _have_ to work," he replied casually. "I just wanted to work because I need something to do. I can't just sit around the house for the rest of my life."

What she loved about her relationship with Draco was despite the fact that they were lovers now, they were also still friends. Outside the bedroom, they maintained their treatment of each other before they got together. They still talk about mundane, general, career or personal topics casually as they had always done.

It hadn't been that way with Ron because when they got together that short time, they treated each other in a lovey-dovey sickening way. It hadn't been that way with Oliver as well, because he was all lovey-dovey from the moment they met.

With Draco, she got the best of both and she loved it.

"So what do you plan to do on your vacation?" Draco was saying.

"I think I'll just stay around and read. Maybe I could go shopping. We can leave town for one weekend, i-if you wanted t-to, that is," Hermione stammered. "I was thinking a yacht or a cruise or something. I've only been once, back when I was about eight years old. It's really nice—"

"Hermione."

"Draco?"

"You're babbling. You babble when you're nervous."

She laughed nervously.

He looked at her weirdly. "What's up with you? Of course I would love to go on a cruise with you, you silly girl." To her surprise, he leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

She blushed faintly, for some reason feeling like a teenager who had just planned her first date ever. "That's good because I already booked for two at the _Celeste _for a seven-day cruise on the Greek Interlude."

He gave a short bark of laughter. "Devious, Granger. So very Slytherin of you. I rather like that." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. "When did you do this?"

"Just today; on the way here when I picked up our food."

"So when is it?"

"Well, it's from 13th of September to 20th. We're taking a portkey to Athens. We'll be docking in Hydra, Santorini, Parikia in Paros, Patmos, Kusadasi, Kepez and the last day in Istanbul. From there, we're going to take another portkey back to London. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect." Draco smiled at her.

"I also got us a two-bedroom suite—"

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" He cried out indignantly. "We're getting a one-bedroom suite. That's final."

She huffed but relented. "Fine, you get your one-bedroom suite."

"Good, you can re-book it tomorrow."

"This is my vacation, why are you being bossy? I don't really like it when you're doing that." She frowned.

"Tough. You need someone to boss you around; you've been bossing around everyone for far too long."

She felt her temper flare. "Wow, Malfoy, you are impossible sometimes!"

"You're annoyed because it's the truth," he said cheekily.

"I'll smack you again," she threatened.

"No, you won't—"

She reached over and smacked him on the shoulder hard.

"You dare!" Draco growled and then he adapted a fierce expression. "You better start running, Granger."

Her eyes widened and she ran from the room, with him hot on her heels. Unknowingly, her feet led her to his bedroom. He caught up with her right in the middle of his bedroom. He tackled her and they managed to land on the bed. He crawled over to her and straddled her body, and she started giggling.

"Malfoy!" Hermione yelled out, still giggling.

Smirking, he leaned over her. "It's Draco," he whispered right before he caught her lips in his for a kiss as a prelude to their coupling. She gave no resistance, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist to lock her to him.

Just like the last time, it was phenomenal.


	14. Chapter 14

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 14**

The first that Hermione did on the first day of her vacation was sleep in. She slept in Draco's arms after a rambunctious night. She woke up promptly at six o'clock. While she was struggling out of his arms, he woke up and reminded her that she was on leave.

He threw a pillow over his face and mumbled, "And for the love of Merlin, go back to sleep, Hermione." A few moments later, his infamous snoring began again.

Shaking her head at him in mild amusement, she lay on her back and pulled on the sheets he had been hogging to cover her naked form. Much as she loved sleeping with him, he really needed to stop snoring. Surely there must be a potion for that? With that last thought, she drifted back to sleep.

When she woke up again, she was snugly spooned with her back against his front, his arms tight around her. She smiled, because she remembered him telling her that he wasn't really into cuddling, but every time they slept together, in the morning she finds herself in his arms. She really liked that. She felt safe in his arms. But right now, she had to escape because her limbs started to ache. She slipped out of his arms and stretched, yawning.

A few moments later, she sat, clutching the sheet to her chest and watched as he, too, started waking up. He yawned widely, stretched his arms, scratched at his bare chest.

She really liked his body. She wasn't exactly fond of bulging muscles, like Ron, Oliver and Viktor. She rather liked Draco's thin frame and his thin but nicely shaped muscles.

He then ran his fingers through his soft, messy hair. She also liked that. His hairline had receded but he confessed that he took hair-thickening potion which she had managed to make fun of and made up for laughing at him by admitting that she liked his hair now.

Truth be told, Draco wasn't exactly what anyone would call overtly handsome. He had facial features considered as sharp and pointy. His grey eyes were rather cold, expressionless, except to those who were really close to him or who had known him for a long while. But his lips made up for all of it. He really had a nice smile, especially when he showed his teeth—he really had a nice set of straight, impossibly white teeth. And if he smiled hard enough, his cheeks made creases which made him look really boyish and charming.

Speaking of smiles, he suddenly cast her one of his half-smiles that he knew that she liked most. Alright, she had to admit that she really had it bad for this man. She was acting like an adolescent discovering puppy love.

She should be disgusted with herself. But she wasn't. Merlin help her.

She smiled back. "You should get ready or you'll be late for work."

He groaned his annoyance but nonetheless threw the covers off him and marched to the bathroom adjoining his bedroom. The door slammed behind him. But a moment later, the door flew open and he marched right back to the bed, leaned over her and kissed her on the lips. He pulled back with a smug smile and strutted back to the bathroom.

When he left for work half an hour later, she was left alone in his flat. She went around his large flat, going through every room to find herself something to amuse herself with. When she found nothing, she settled on sprawling rather ungracefully on his couch, grabbing the remote and turned on the large plasma television. He _never_ used it on his own. He said he didn't understand the bloody thing. It just came with the flat.

Two romantic movies and one episode of a comedy TV series later, the doorbell rang. Confused she opened the door to a grinning Pansy Parkinson, clad in a fashionable summer dress—that seemed out of place, considering it was currently raining a bit harder than the average in London. Not to mention the fact that she was wearing a pair of yellow four-inch heels.

The smile disappeared the moment her eyes landed on the shorter woman clad in a man's t-shirt and skimpy shorts. Hermione felt apprehensive under her probing gaze. "Uh. Hello, Parkinson. What brings you by?"

"Naturally, I'm looking for Draco," she said haughtily and then her eyes ran over Hermione's form from head to toe, slowly. "But I can see that he's busy."

She blushed faintly. "Ah, no, he's at work right now. He won't be back until five thirty."

A perfectly shaped eyebrow lifted. "Is that so? Would you mind if I wait here?"

"R-really? Well, if you're sure. It would be awkward for the both us." Hermione Granger wasn't exactly known for subtleness.

"I'm sure it will be. Besides I think we should talk."

Reluctantly, she let the former Slytherin in. Pansy sat on a single chair while Hermione opted for the couch, a good eight to ten feet between them. Hermione decided that Pansy was still the same snob, albeit a little mellow now at her age. She still had her doubts though.

"Before you say anything, Hermione, may I call you Hermione? Calling each other by our last names is a bit—immature for my taste. Anyway, I would like to make it clear that just because you're with Draco now, we are never going to be friends."

Hermione accidentally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! I can't stand you either. Now that we've cleared that up, what did you want to talk about?"

"I know that your little, er, fling with Draco is none of my business, but really, you two should manage to keep it under wraps before the rest of the world finds out. In our 'society'—"

Hermione snorted. _Sodding 'pureblood' society_. _How narrow-minded could this girl get? Not to mention the rest of their 'society'_.

Pansy glared at the interruption. "As I was saying, some of the people already know. We—Draco's friends—really want to save his reputation or rather, what's left of it."

"Oh, please elaborate so I can understand fully," Hermione muttered sarcastically.

Of course, the sarcasm was lost on the other woman. "The Malfoy family's reputation was flawless that dated back to the 11th century. We thought that when we reunited with him, we can get their family name back to its prominent status after it has taken its toll when they revealed that they were involved with the Dark Lord back during the war."

Hermione was mildly amused now. Because really, Pansy Parkinson was sprouting nonsense and if anyone else could listen to her now, they would be convinced that she was a loon. "And this concerns me how?" She smirked.

"If you could keep your fling under wraps until it's over between the two of you that would be great. Word has already gotten out that Draco's been seen in the company of the most famous muggleborn in the entire wizarding world, Hermione Granger."

The said muggleborn had to admit that Pansy had said everything without malice. In fact, she did seem concerned for Draco's wellbeing even if her notions are rather ridiculous. _Almost as ridiculous as her S.P.E.W._, she almost laughed out loud. "Pansy, I think you should leave it to Draco to handle his _reputation_ on his own," she said in her gentlest tone. "Besides, it's the dawning of a new age. I'm not saying that you're wrong, you have your own beliefs and I respect that but the fact is I don't think Draco is and hasn't been for a long time a pureblood elitist such as you and your friends."

"But you don't understand him—"

"I think I understand him far better than you and your other friends will," Hermione cut in. "Pansy, if you're really Draco's friend, you won't go behind his back like this."

Pansy frowned deeply.

"If he finds out what you've done, he won't hesitate to cut off all ties with you. In fact, he's rather disappointed in the way you acted when you found out that he's still seeing me."

"He is?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. "He was actually counting on your support. He values your friendship, though only Merlin knows why."

Pansy bit her lip. "I don't want to lose my friends."

"_A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow_," Hermione quoted from one of the timeless muggle classics, Romeo and Juliet. "Don't shun Draco just because he's different from you now… and Daphne, as well."

"Daphne? How could you possibly know?"

"I realized it during Theo's party. While you were clinging and laughing with your other friend, Daphne was out of place." _She looked like how I felt from the moment I entered the Wizarding World. Like I don't belong and like I always have to prove my worth in this world_.

"She's disowned by her family for involving herself with a muggleborn. In fact, they've been together for almost six years now," Pansy said. "Even her own sister doesn't speak to her."

"That doesn't make you a better person than them," Hermione pointed out. "She feels inferior in your company by the way you ignore her. I have spoken to her once and she seems like a delightful woman, rather funny actually."

"Daphne? Funny?" Pansy giggled and then she sighed. "I do miss Daphne, but Serena doesn't really like her. She thinks Daphne is a bit too cheerful for her taste or something. I don't really want to choose."

"You've already chosen with the way you treat Daphne."

At this point, Pansy broke out in silent tears. Hermione jumped up in surprise. A sarcastic, insulting Pansy she could handle but an emotional one? Merlin help her! Where was Draco when she needed him? "Don't cry," she muttered, almost pleading. "Don't cry."

"Sorry," Pansy sniffed. "I hate to admit it but you're right. I've been a horrible friend to her! Why she's still sticking around I haven't the faintest idea!"

"Would you like some tea to, uh, help you feel better?" Hermione offered.

"Yes please," Pansy murmured.

"Right. I'll be back after you pull yourself together." Again, Hermione wasn't exactly one for subtlety. She half walked, half ran to the kitchen. Bloody hell! Where was the haughty Pansy Parkinson that walked in this afternoon? She prayed to Merlin she would be back before the kettle whistled. How embarrassing for the both of them!

"Granger, you can stop hiding now! I'm not crying anymore!"

Despite herself, she laughed shortly while she set up teacups, sugar, milk, honey and lemon on a tray together with a kettle of brewed tea. She walked out of the spacious kitchen letting the tray float behind her. She peeked in and saw Pansy sitting straight with her legs crossed, examining her perfectly lacquered long red nails.

"The next you cry, warn me, will you?" Hermione said when she grabbed the tray and laid it on the coffee table.

Pansy laughed tensely. "I think it's best that we never mention this to anyone."

"Good idea. Anyway, I know it's none of my business as well, but what did you want to see Draco for?"

"The same thing I told you," Pansy admitted with a small sheepish smile.

"Aren't you glad I was the one here and not him?" Hermione tried not to sound smug. She really did.

"Yes."

Hermione smirked in triumph.

"Oh, Merlin, can you not smile like that, Hermione? You look like Draco when you smile like that!" Pansy gasped, when she caught sight of the other woman's smirk directed at her. "Alright. Now don't do that again. It's a bit creepy."

Hermione shrugged. "Do you want to watch a movie while waiting for Draco?"

"A movie?"

"Yes, you know, muggle moving pictures with sounds?"

"Oh. That. Sure," Pansy said uncertainly. "Daphne has a telly in her apartment, a gift from her muggleborn boyfriend. But it's not as big as that—" She pointed to the giant plasma television suspended against the wall.

"Well, you know Draco. Anyway, what's your fancy? Do you want to see something scary, biographical, romantic—"

"Romantic, please!"

There was an enormous drawer that was filled to the brim with DVDs. It was covered with dust. She grabbed her wand from her pocket and cast a cleaning charm. She got the first thing she recognized: _If Only_. She had never seen it yet but it did look forthcoming. She grabbed the disc and loaded it on the dusty DVD player.

"Pansy, get comfortable, I think this movie is a bit long," she warned. "And you can sit on the other end of the couch or you'll strain your neck in that position." She closed the drapes around the room to adapt a cinema setting in the living room. She curled on her side of the couch while Pansy took the other side.

On the first quarter of the movie, both women were crying when the protagonist, Sam, had died and Ian was out of sorts when he found out. Sighs could be heard throughout the movie when the next scenes unfolded. In the end, when Ian had died, both woman were crying loudly.

"It's not f-fair! How can he die just like _that_?!" Pansy wailed.

"We can't change our destiny," Hermione replied, tears also running down her cheeks. "They should have ended up together."

And that was how Draco found the two of them; crying and wailing over something that did not exist outside a person's imagination. Draco caught sight of Hermione first when he flooed over to his flat.

"Hermione, love, what's wrong?" He grabbed her and hugged her tenderly, stroking her hair. His eyes landed on Pansy who was wailing and crying as well. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"W-we were watching a muggle m-movie," his friend sniffled dramatically. "It was s-so sad!"

"It was," Hermione confirmed, her tears abating now. She looked up at him and grinned. "We're being silly women, don't mind us."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her again. "You had me worried. I thought I was going to hex someone." He looked pointedly at Pansy.

Pansy wiped at her tears with a delicate handkerchief. She sniffed again, but she reclaimed her haughty expression. "I didn't come here for that. I came here for a quick chat, but instead spent hours in _her _company."

"It's been unbearably awkward," Hermione agreed dryly.

"Care to enlighten me?" Draco sighed, pulling on his outer clothes, collapsing on the sofa, bringing Hermione with him to settle on his lap. Hermione struggled on his lap until she finally came to rest on the seat beside him, but he still managed to keep a firm hold of her with an arm around her waist.

Before Pansy could say anything, Hermione gave her a look when she opened her mouth and said, "Pansy came to apologize for her behavior during your little Slytherin reunion. She didn't mean to ignore you. She was just surprised that you were actually friends with me."

Pansy flushed a tad. "Y-yes, Draco. Hermione's right. I was going to apologize. I hope you're not mad at me."

"I'm not mad," he replied. "Just a little disappointed."

"Told you," Hermione muttered quietly to Pansy.

Pansy glared at the other woman before smiling sheepishly at her old friend. "I thought it over and I had been wrong all along. I don't care about what the others think. I'm standing by you with whatever your decision is, Draco. As long as you're happy, even if it is with _her_."

"Thank you, Pansy. I appreciate that." Draco smiled gratefully at her. He eyed the two women who wore small pleased smiles. "So are you two friends now?" He asked, drawing horrified expressions on the faces of each woman.

"Of course not!" Pansy said vehemently.

"Never in a million years!" Hermione cried indignantly.

"Never!" Pansy agreed.

"Nope!" Hermione relented.

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," Draco said dryly.

Pansy stood up from her place on the end of the couch. She straightened her dress "Anyway, I best be going now before it gets more awkward. Blimey, what an eventful day." Without waiting for a word from the two other occupants of the room, she walked over to the front door. "See you around!" She shrilled before closing the door behind her.

"She's quite the character, isn't she," Hermione observed.

"Yes she is," Draco agreed, staring at the closed door with a peculiar expression. Shaking his head, he turned to his girlfriend. "Now, give me a kiss Hermione. I've been waiting for it all day."


	15. Chapter 15

**It Had To Be You**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 15**

The day when they finally boarded the famous, luxury cruise line, _Celeste_, could not come sooner. But when it did, Hermione was giddy with excitement. She had already packed everything she needed three days ago. She also packed Draco's stuff for him which he was grateful for because he hated packing. They also had to do a little shopping the day before because both of them owned nothing that seemed suitable for a sun-filled week.

Hermione wasn't exactly familiar with the differences between a cruise, a ship, and a yacht. _Celeste_ turned out to be a yacht, actually. There were only exactly 100 guests and with an additional crew of 95. It was intimate and perfect for a honeymoon and the good thing about it was that neither of them had _that_ thought cross their minds. They were just delighted to get away from the city for a little while.

The _Celeste_ was a muggle luxury yacht. From the moment they were welcomed aboard by the captain, Hermione felt that were actually being welcomed onto their own private luxury yacht. The captain had said something about "splendidly spoiled" and she was excited for that. The yacht contained a piano bar, fitness center, a library, activity center (where they can bike, hike, kayak and snorkel), a golf simulator, an open bar, an all-gourmet restaurant at the outdoor topside restaurant and a casino.

She had a hunch that she won't be seeing much of Draco during the cruise.

When they finished the door, she was completely ignoring a grumbling Draco beside her as her eyes greedily surveyed the luxurious scene. "I love being rich sometimes!" She giggled to herself.

Beside her, Draco rolled his eyes. _Women_. He saw a few gentlemen approaching the room where the tour guide indicated the "golf simulator" and decided to follow them while the women scattered to their own fancies. Before Hermione could escape, he made a grab for her. "I'm going to the golf thing. I'll see you later in the suite?"

Hermione smiled at him. "I'll be in the library," she told him.

"Figures," he muttered, rolling his eyes again at her. He leaned down and kissed her soundly. "See you later."

"Remember, no magic!" She warned in a whisper before giving one last kiss and practically skipping towards the hallway that led to the large library.

_She can be so adorable sometimes_, Draco thought in amusement as he followed the herd of men to the other side of the room that led to the golf simulator, whatever that was.

Hermione's personal library in her flat was bigger and contained more books (it was actually the original master's bedroom but she converted it into a library and now used the spare room as her bedroom) but the yacht's library was more updated. To her surprise, she wasn't alone in the library. She was in the general fiction section when another body bumped into her.

"Oh!" Hermione squealed when she accidentally dropped the two hard bound books she was holding. She jumped back to avoid the books hitting her toes.

_"Suhzhaliavam_! I'm sorr-ee, are you okay?" A heavily accented, husky woman's voice cried out worriedly.

Hermione turned around, ready to pounce, but saw the other woman was huge! She looked like she was almost nine months along. Hermione almost gasped at seeing the girl's face - she was very beautiful. Very exotic in her blue-black hair, almond-shaped black eyes, her tiny upturned nose and pink lips. What made her almost gasp was the fact that she wasn't even wearing a dust of makeup.

"I'm fine," Hermione assured the beautiful woman. She didn't smile back when the other woman smiled in relief. But then she recognized her accent and curiosity got the best of her. "If you don't mind me asking, are you Bulgarian?"

"Vy yes, yes I am. How could you tell?"

"I have a very good friend who is Bulgarian."

"How delightful! An' you must be English, judging by your accent."

"I am," Hermione confirmed, finally smiling back at her.

"I had an ex-boyfriend who is English. It didn't last, he vas how do you say... uptight?" She giggled.

Hermione giggled. "My name is Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you, 'Erminee, I am Rayna Pavlina."

"You can call me Mine," she offered. She detested nicknames, but she allowed them mostly for children and in this case, hearing _Erminee_ was more painful to hear than Viktor's _Herm-own-ninny_. "_Priiatno mi e da se zapoznaem_, Rayna," Hermione said in perfect Bulgarian Viktor had taught her years ago, as the two women shook hands.

"Very impressive," Rayna nodded her approval. "Mine," she added and then she smiled brilliantly at Hermione.

"How far along are you?" Hermione pointed to her companion's protruding stomach. "I'm a hea-I mean a doctor."

"Really? I'm about eight months... I think."

Hermione hid her incredulous expression at the fact that a pregnant woman didn't know how far along her pregnancy she was. She merely nodded. "Well, I should be going now. I'm going to take a dip in the pool. I'll see you around?"

"_Da_. I vould love that," Rayna said, smiling at her again. "_Do po-kasno_. Goodbye."

Hermione grabbed the two hard bound books from the floor. She cast one last smile at Rayna and walked out of the library but not before signing a borrower's card. _What a nice woman_, she mused as she stalked the hallway that led up to her and Draco's suite. But she made a vow not to let her and Draco meet. She trusted Draco but that woman was too beautiful for him not to pay her any attention and she didn't want others to draw his attention.

Feeling uncharacteristically selfish and possessive, she dressed herself in a simple striped pastel pink and white with a bits of black one-piece swimsuit but it was strapless and a bit daringly low than her usual taste. What prompted her to choose this particular piece was the knowledge that there may be other Rayna Pavlinas on board who weren't pregnant that may draw his eyes or interest and she couldn't afford that.

She grabbed a fluffy towel and one of the hard bound books. She made her way to the golf room. She opened the sliding door, peeked in, and immediately caught sight of her boyfriend somewhere in the middle of the room. He was practicing his swings using a golf club and he was doing a rather lousy job at it. He couldn't seem to hit the golf ball. A golf instructor stood nearby with an exasperated expression.

Laughing silently, she made her way inside, her eyes fixed on Draco and completely unaware of the stares she was receiving and practically drooling men around her.

Draco was saying something to the golf instructor but the other man was distracted by another presence that seemed to be behind him. Annoyed, Draco whipped around and saw his girlfriend in a skimpy swimsuit. He swore out loud and dropped the golf club loudly on the floor.

"Hello to you too," Hermione muttered sarcastically.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here wearing _that_?" Draco demanded, glaring at her. He grabbed the towel that was thrown over her shoulder and wrapped it around her shoulders tightly. "So help me Merlin, I should strangle you."

"What is your problem?" She pursed her lips. "If you don't want to see me then just say so."

Draco then gave out a frustrated sigh. "Of course I want to see you. It's _them_."

"Huh?"

At her confused look, he prompted Hermione out of the room. "Look around. Everyone is staring at you."

She did look around. Everyone (that turned out to be all male) was look at her with peculiar expressions on their faces. Some were looking at Draco with envious expression. "Oh," she replied in a small voice. Embarrassed, she practically ran from the room. "I'm sorry," she said once the door was closed behind them and Draco was glaring at her.

"You should be. I almost had a bloody heart attack. But Merlin, you're so sexy." He whispered these words to her as his arms came around her waist, pulling on her until she was pressed against him. "Are we going swimming?"

Hermione smiled up at him as she too wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes."

"Can I take a rain check?" He suggested huskily, leaning down to lay soft kisses on her jaw. "Because right now I just want to take that offensive swimsuit off you and have my way with you." His hands came to rest on her partially covered bum. He brushed his fingers across the part of her bum that wasn't covered by the suit.

"Convince me," she murmured throatily. "Because I was looking forward to reading my book." The book was actually lying on the floor face down. She had dropped it when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hmm." Without further ado, Draco kissed her expertly. He prompted her to open her mouth with his and when it did, his tongue found its way inside to play with hers that managed to draw out a small moan from her. When he kissed her like this, she felt her legs turn to jelly. She might have crumpled to the floor had it not been for his arms that were secured around her.

She kissed back with equal fervor, the way she knew he also liked. She then remembered the way the men stared at her. She figured that there would probably women who do the same thing to her. She kissed him more intensely, a claiming kiss.

Hermione wasn't sure what had made her to keep acting this way. But then again, back in London, she never had to share him with other people except for people she trusted. Save for their co-workers and friends, they mostly kept to themselves, had a private world of their own. On board _Celeste_, their private world had to be modified to acknowledge other people since there were only a hundred people. They have to socialize.

She pulled back from him, breathless. "Draco, let's go to the suite."

"I thought you'd never ask." Smirking mischievously, he leaned forward and hurled his girlfriend over his shoulder.

"Draco!" Hermione shrieked. "Put me down!"

"Not on your life."

* * *

By the time they emerged from their suite, it was already half past six in the evening. The whole yacht was deserted except for the crews One crew member stepped up and told them that they were free to wander the island of Hydra.

Hermione groaned. "You horny bastard, I was looking forward to viewing _Adrastos Safronio's_ art museum. The guests of _Celeste_ were invited for a private viewing, you know!"

Draco sputtered in mild surprise. "Me, a horny bastard? Speak for yourself, Granger! We would have left sooner if you had not given me a-"

"Ah! Stop!" She yelled, blushing deeply. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's grab dinner somewhere. We have an hour and a half before the show in the Hydrama Theater and Arts Center starts."

He laughed at her and grabbed her hand as they left the yacht.

The place was crowded and he drew her closer and held her hand more tightly so he would not lose her. The place was noisy, combined that there seemed to be a street party and there was a loud blare of local music playing from somewhere they could not see. Five minutes or so later, they were drawn to a nearby open restaurant because of its charm and simplicity, and it was also the less crowded of all restaurants that were seen within their vision. The restaurant was beautifully decorated in white, with comfortable-looking chairs and sofas, but it was the view of the cliffs that had prompted Hermione to pull Draco towards it.

Hermione soon found herself seated at the table that had the best view of the cliffs. It was almost dark but the moon had risen and it was illuminating the view. Draco excused himself to the loo.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and saw her new friend, the very pregnant Rayna, radiant in her bright blue maternity dress.

"_Zdrasti_. Alo, Mine. I haven't seen you all day."

"Hello, Rayna. I, uh, decided to take a nap this afternoon and I woke up too late. We actually just came from the yacht."

"We? You an' your husband?"

"No, my boyfriend." Hermione smiled at her. "He's in the men's room. I would like for you to meet him."

"I'm afraid I cannot vait any longer, my mother is vaiting for me. I just saw you and I vanted to say alo."

"I really appreciate that. See you around."

Rayna was merely five paces ahead when Draco appeared back on the table. "Who was that, love?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, someone I met in the _Celeste. _She literally bumped into me while I was browsing through the books in the library. She's really nice, I wish you would have met her," she lied. "But her mother was waiting for her so she had to go."

Draco shrugged. "Alright... now, I'm famished. Let's see what Hydra has to offer."

As always, Draco ordered a feast for the two of them. Herb salad with feta cheese, eggplant parmigiana wrapped in parma ham and mushrooms in white wine sauce. And that was just for starters. For the main course they had _tagliatelle_ with salmon and vodka sauce, seafood spaghetti, spaghetti with crayfish and a rib-eye steak together with Greek wine. It was actually enough for four people, but Draco bore a pit less stomach.

"The food is so good I almost didn't mind swimming through the sea of muggles on the way here," Draco said as he sat back with a sigh, dropping his knife and fork. "Almost."

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "_stupid pureblood elitist_."

When they arrived at the theatre, Hermione was again practically bouncing in excitement. "They're showing Psyche and Cupid. It's one of my most favorite stories in the Greek Mythology!"

"I think the story of Pygmalion and Galatea is much more dramatic. You know, unrequited love and all."

"But the things that Psyche went through to prove to Cupid's mother that she really does love him." She sighed. They were seated at a private balcony that had one of the best views of the stage. "And besides, it was not unrequited love. It was fetish." They laughed in unison.

"Well, I don't really know what you're laughing at, Granger, since you yourself seem to have the same fetish. Book fetish."

She shuddered. "I do not have a book fetish, Malfoy. It's better than _your_ fetish, you spend an hour every morning just staring at yourself in the mirror."

"I do not stare at myself for an hour. I spend half an hour examining and destroying whatever blemishes that grace my face."

"Vain."

"Girl with book fetish."

"What a lame comeback."

"I know," Draco admitted, smiling.

"Now that we've established our fetishes, let's watch, shall we?" Hermione muttered as she leaned against his shoulder when he wrapped an arm around her. A few moments later, the lights dimmed, soft classical began to play and the red curtains started to rise, unfolding the timeless adventurous love story of Psyche and Cupid.


	16. Chapter 16

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 16**

Draco finally learned the art of golf without looking like a complete fool because Hermione came with him this time. There weren't many people around because it was nine in the morning and most of the guests don't really emerge from their rooms and suites before noon, the golf instructor had said. Hermione was actually moderate in playing golf because it was her father's hobby and he took her to the golf club with him sometimes, but she usually played mini golf.

For the first time ever, Draco managed to land a golf ball in a hole. He actually screamed his delight.

"YES! I DID IT! Granger, I did it!"

A few feet away, Hermione laughed. "You did it!"

He smirked at her. "I believe congratulations are in order."

"Later." She winked at him.

But to his disappointed, he was unable to land the ball again. After several more tries, he was frustrated and was practically growling at the golf instructor almost an hour later.

Hermione sighed and apologized to the golf instructor. She turned to her boyfriend. "Draco, leave him alone," she scolded. "You're scaring the poor kid."

Draco sneered. "But he's a stupid muggle!"

Hermione hit him on the shoulder. "Lay off, will you?" She then addressed the wide-eyed golf instructor. "You can go now, I'll teach him." Shaking her head at the golf instructor who was practically running, she turned back again to Draco. "Look, your grip is all wrong. There different types of grips in golf. Watch me." She locked her hands together by curling the pinkie finger of the trailing hand around the index finger of the lead hand. "This is called the _interlocking grip_. This is how I hold my golf club because I have small hands. Now you have a pair of strong hands- wipe that silly smile off your face. Now you do the _vardon_ _grip_. Fit your pinkie of the trailing hand between the index and middle finger of the lead hand like this." She demonstrated.

"Okay, now what?" He sighed as he mimicked her gestures.

"We work on your stance. First thing you do is relax."

"I am relaxed."

"No, you're not. You're frustrated. Let it go. Alright. Good. Now flex your knees slightly, lean forward like this but keep your back straight. Do not slouch! Good. No, no. Bend at the waist. Yes, that's great. Perfect. And for Merlin's sake, loosen that death grip you have on that golf club!"

"Alright, done. Now I hit the ball?"

"No, your position is wrong. Stand right here, yes, move your arse right here."

"Here?"

"No. You see this rail here? Now align your body with that rail. Now one step closer to the ball. Good."

"Now I hit the ball?"

"No, your feet placement is all wrong. Spread it."

"Like this?"

"Spread your legs wider!"

"Funny. That's exactly what I told you last night-"

"Ah! Draco!"

He threw his head back and laughed. "Sorry, couldn't help it."

"Your feet should be shoulder width apart, balance your weight on the balls of your feet. Great! That's perfect. Now take a whack! But not too hard."

The ball landed in the hole. While Draco grinned, Hermione whooped and jumped on him. They stumbled a bit, but Draco managed to regain his balance. With her legs locked around his waist, he wrapped his arms around her to support her. "Bloody brilliant, Malfoy!"

"Now I see why the other healers in St. Mungo's are afraid of you. You have this crazed look in your eye whenever you're teaching or barking out instructions. It's quite scary, you know."

"Shut up," she murmured as she brought her face closer for a kiss.

"Hermione?!"

The woman jumped away from Draco, recognizing the voice. Wide eyed, she turned around and saw the frowning face of her father. His reproving gaze darted between her and the man she was clinging to and the wrinkles and lines on his face were more pronounced. Draco stood awkwardly to the side.

"Daddy!" She yelped. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in... Greece," she finished lamely.

Her father drew closer to her, pointedly ignoring the offensive young man who seemed to be ravishing his daughter in public. "Frankly, I don't even want to know. Now give me a hug because I haven't seen you in over six months and I missed you so much." He opened his arms, his expression finally softening.

"I missed you too, Daddy. I'm sorry you had to see me, err, that way. Where's Mum?" She asked as she basked in the familiar scent from her childhood.

"She's in the suite sleeping in. She'll be up for brunch soon, why don't you join us?" He looked at Draco. "You're welcome to join us."

Startled, Draco jumped a bit. "Thank you, uh, Mr. Granger," he responded cordially, but avoided the old man's assessing gaze.

"Daddy." Hermione took her father's hand. "I want you to meet Draco Malfoy."

If her father recognized the name, he didn't show it, and Draco assumed that it was a good sign. He held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you. Sir," he added for good measure. He wanted to say _I've heard so much about you_ because it's what boyfriends would normally say to their girlfriend's parents, but that would be a lie. He and Hermione usually avoided the topic of their families. They were actually quite good that that- avoiding the topic of the past ever since their "deal".

"You too," Mr. Granger replied curtly, but nevertheless shook the younger man's hand.

"How come I didn't see you and Mum when we came aboard the_ Celeste_?" Hermione intervened, sensing the tension between the two.

"We were the last ones in," her father chuckled. "We actually forgot that we were booked for the Greek Interlude until I caught sight of the tickets that were left inside my side table at the hotel. We came from Thessaloniki and almost didn't make it. This was our last trip before we went back to London."

"I'm glad I caught you," Hermione told him sincerely and hugged him again. "I'm on vacation as well."

Mr. Granger made a face. "About time."

She laughed. "Now, about that brunch?"

"I'll go get your mother. Why don't we meet you two topside?"

When Hermione and Draco were alone they stood in an awkward silence for a minute. "So, that was my father..."

"I gathered as much," Draco said making a face at her. "Well, this cruise seems to get more and more interesting. But I don't think I'll join you and your parents for brunch. I'll leave you to catch up. I'll take mine in the suite and have a nap. Then you can wake me up and we can take a dip in the pool."

"Merlin, you can't know how much I appreciate that, Draco." She grabbed both of his hands in hers. "I just can't believe that you were the same arrogant, spiteful boy who bullied and degraded me to no end. I'm just so proud of you."

"Granger, stop being so bloody cheesy, you're creeping me out!"

She laughed and let go of his hands. "I'll see you later then?"

"Now that it seems that I have to share you for the remainder of our little paradise, I don't want to waste any precious time. I'll walk you there." He pretended to look thoughtful. "Or maybe I can find some young chit who can keep me company while you're busy gallivanting with your parents. "

Hermione rolled her eyes as they walked out of the golf room. "No offense Malfoy, but you're no Gilderoy Lockhart." She snorted at her own joke while Draco sneered.

"I'll wait for you in the suite," Draco said as he turned away from the door of the restaurant topside of the yacht and proceeded to the hallway that led to their suite.

Hermione watched him go until he disappeared as he rounded the corner. Smiling to herself, she pushed open the door. Narrowing her eyes against the glare of the sun from the east, she spotted her parents from a table in the very middle of the restaurant. Her heart jumped at seeing her mother and she all but ran to where her parents were sitting. Her mother cried upon seeing her radiant daughter. She clung to her mother.

It was like this every time they see each other ever since Hermione fetched them in Australia and restored their memories. Hermione told them why she did it, what she went through, and everything else including Voldemort. They had come close to losing her without their knowledge.

"I'm so glad to see you, my darling," Hermione's mother gushed as she finally pulled away from her, wiping the tears that trailed down her cheeks. Her husband sat across from the two of them, chuckling good-naturedly and muttering _women_ under his breath. Hermione shot him a look. "So your father here tells me you're on board with a man."

Hermione blushed a little at the memory. "Yes, Mum, I'm with my boyfriend. He's supposed to join us but he thought that we should catch up first. You can meet him later. You'll like him."

"It doesn't matter what I think. As long as he makes you happy." Her mother smiled fondly at her daughter.

Her father snorted.

"Daddy," Hermione warned before turning back to her mother. "Now let's order and then you can tell me about your adventure in Greece."

As they ate their scrumptious and hearty brunch, her mother and father told her tales about their six month stay in Greece. She laughed at their attempts to speak in Greek, she complimented them with their new coloring and so forth. She told them how much she missed them terribly. She told them about Draco which delighted her mother because she really wanted her daughter to get married immediately since she _was_ thirty years old (or rather turning thirty in a couple of days on the 19th of September).

* * *

An hour and a half later, Hermione parted with her parents and she went back to her and Draco's suite. Like he told her earlier, he was sprawled on his stomach across the king size bed. She smiled fondly at him.

Opening the closet, she grabbed her bikini the color of coral. The top covered most of her breasts but the underwire managed to push them up to look allure and the bottoms were supported by strings on each side. She shed her clothes and changed into her bikini. Throwing on a matching cover up, she walked over to the bed and sat beside Draco's still form.

"Wake up, Malfoy," she said, shaking his shoulder.

Immediately, he turned around and smirked at her. "I'm awake and I've been watching you strip. I don't think I want to go swimming now."

She pursed her lips. "Tough. Get dressed, I'll meet you in the pool area."

Draco looked pained and then he groaned as he rolled over to the side of the bed so he could stand up. Hermione hid a smirk behind her hand as she watched him grumbling as he dressed in a pair of swimming shorts.

He stared at her with a look of mild contempt, exactly like a spoiled kid who didn't get the toy he wanted for Christmas. Rolling her eyes, she threw opened the door to their suite.

At the end of the hallway, Hermione suddenly stopped walking and hit her forehead with her open palm. "I forgot the sunblock!"

"I'll go get it," Draco offered. "Why don't you go ahead, I'll be right there."

She kissed him on the lips in thanks and they went their separate ways. At the poolside, Hermione bumped into her Bulgarian friend, Rayna who greeted her warmly as always.

"Alo, Mine! You look very lovely." Rayna eyed Hermione's frame wistfully as she laid a hand on her bulging stomach. She was wearing a maternity swimsuit, she was all wet, but a towel was wrapped around her form.

_"Mnogo blagodaria,"_ Hermione thanked her in Bulgarian.

Rayna threw her head back and laughed, which drew a few curious glances in their direction. Her laugh was certainly devastating to the male population. It was huskily provocative. "I love it vhen you speak Bulgarian! I very much appreciate it. I vas in the Jacuzzi," she sighed, "Now I am going back to my cabin for a nap. This brat in me makes me very tired easily."

Hermione smiled tentatively, feeling a little off when Rayna called her own offspring a brat. "Please don't let me keep you. I'll be jumping in the pool. I'll see you around, Rayna."

"Goodbye!"

With one last wave, Hermione proceeded to a lounge chair by the pool. Basking in the sun's warmth, she stretched and closed her eyes. Immediately, a shadow fell across her.

"Was that your friend from Hydra you were just talking to?" Draco inquired lightly, pushing slightly at her legs so he could sit down on the same chair.

"Yes." She still had her eyes closed.

"She looks a bit familiar." Draco shrugged dismissively. "Anyway, why are you sleeping we came to swim, remember? Come on, Granger." He grasped her arms, ignoring her protests. He looped an arm beneath her bent legs, another across her back and cradled her against his chest loosely. She bounced as he half-ran, half-walked to the pool.

He smirked right before he threw Hermione into the pool, creating a loud splash, the water swallowing her shriek. He threw his head back and guffawed as he calmly entered the pool, wading through the water to the spot where Hermione was finally emerging.

"Why you no-good sneaky Slytherin!" She narrowed her eyes and her voice lowered. "You're lucky we're surrounded by muggles or I would have hexed you so bad you won't be able to have sex for ten years!"

His smile wavered at the prospect but then he flashed her his winning smile she liked. "I was just horsing around." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Lighten up, Granger." He kissed her quickly on the lips before letting her go and diving underwater.

Her anger dissipated, she swam lazily around the pool, bumping into Draco occasionally.

Some time later, she spread her arms and legs as she surrendered to the water's buoyancy, closing her eyes. She could _smell _Draco before she felt his presence. "You're going to meet my mother some time during this cruise," she warned him softly, still relaxed above the water.

"Figures," he muttered. "I'd say this morning was rather awkward, don't you? Besides, how did brunch with your parents go?"

She smiled. "It was great. We hadn't really counted on bumping into each other here."

"So you're happy then?"

"Very."

Draco had plans to make her happier, make her feel more special. After all, her birthday was looming near. They would be docked in Kepez, Antalya, Turkey that day. He already talked to the captain about the place and the captain gave a few tips and hints which places are the best to go to. He had yet to figure out what to do. A "fancy dinner" seemed to be mundane because they usually dined out in expensive but relatively excellent restaurants all over London. Suddenly, an idea came to him. What better way to take find advice from the person who knew Hermione better than herself? He can't wait to meet her mother.

There was a single thought that bugged the hell out of him. After all, these months had been nothing but pure bliss for the two of them and he couldn't help the feeling that something wrong might ruin things for the two of them.

As always, he shook it off. He was being ridiculous. Sure they fought all the time - their arguments were endless, their insults still strong, they still egg each other on and even got to the point when she walked out on him, and he on her but at the end of the day they learned how to compromise.

They were both mature adults, not bobbing teenagers that don't know how to handle relationships. Considering who they are, they knew what risks they took when they came together.

_Yes,_ Draco finally concluded, _nothing would ruin what we have_.


	17. Chapter 17

**Warning!** Fluffy fluffy fluffy. (Well, fluffier than normal)

* * *

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 17**

The next two days were considered blissful. Hermione and Draco spent most evenings together, in bed or touring the place where the yacht has docked and she reserved her mornings and/or afternoons with her parents. Draco would join them if he decided not to sleep in (a lazy arse he really was). To her surprise, Draco got on well with her parents. They even seemed to have some kind of inside joke that Hermione couldn't figure out because they often shared knowing looks.

The day of her birthday, she woke up in a foul mood. _Thirty years old! Bloody hell!_ Sure she acknowledged herself as a thirty year old women since the start of the year but finally reaching her birthday, she felt just _so old_.

But then an idea came to her. Thirty wasn't exactly old. Come to think of it, she was in her prime. She had everything she could ever want. A (sometimes) satisfying career, a very satisfying relationship with an infuriatingly loving man, a beautiful modern flat, a set of loving parents, a group of friends who supported her in every way (especially her choice of men) and a few more things she could add to the list.

_I am thirty years old. I am the maker of my day. I am the master of my own destiny. _

Chuckling at the ridiculousness of her thoughts, she threw aside the blanket that covered her form, ignoring her snoring naked companion, she stretched and took a deep breath. She opened the drapes and the sun beamed through the window pane. It was truly a beautiful day.

The yacht swayed gently, indicating that the current this day was a little strong. In a few hours they would be docked in a little town in Antalya, Turkey. She already read a little bit about the particular town in Kepez. It was small, charming, historic and cultural. But she was really excited about their last destination in the very known city of Istanbul.

Since it was her day, she decided to have a lie in. She lifted the covers and slid back into bed, but then her stomach growled softly.

Smiling slightly, she reached over the telephone on the bedside table. She called for some breakfast good for three- because Draco always ate seconds, sometimes even thirds.

She decided that after breakfast, she would go down to the spa for a two-hour massage and wouldn't let Draco bother her.

After breakfast with Draco, she left the suite and proceeded to the spa. There were about a dozen women wandering about in fancy silk robes. She approached the front desk and asked for a two-hour aromatherapy massage and manicure/pedicure after.

When she got to the massage room, she was greeted immediately by a familiar woman who was reclined on her back, her bulging stomach exposed and she was wearing a maternity bikini. Hermione settled to the massage table beside her.

"Alo, my friend," Rayna greeted. "Have a good morning?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed. "Are you?"

"Yes," Rayna echoed. "Though my back is being difficult today. This brat is really heavy." She laughed.

Again with the brat. Hermione shook it off. "Oh of course, you're almost ready for delivery, aren't you? Don't worry about it, I would say I recommend a pregnancy massage but it seems you are already getting ready for one?"

"_Da_. _Mayka_ told me to have one. I vanted the hot stone massage but they said it vas not good for my high blood pressure because of the pregnancy." Rayna sighed deeply. "Ever since I became pregnant I can't do anything anymore."

"_Ne se trevoji_. Don't worry, my friend," Hermione consoled, lightly touching Rayna's bare arm. "You're going to give birth soon."

The raven-haired beauty smiled gratefully at her. "I vant to tell you a secret - I didn't really vant a baby but I was involved with two men at the same time. Remember the English I told you about? It might be his. I have been looking but it seems he has disappeared from my homeland."

Hermione was already frowning disapprovingly when the other woman had told her was involved with two men at the same time. She was a firm believer of monogamy, be it through marriage or a relationship.

Rayna, however, continued speaking. "This pregnancy has brought me nothing but trouble but I couldn't bear the thought of killing my son. _Mayka_ has told me the best decision is to leave the custody to his father, but like I said before, I could not find him. He must have returned to England. If I do not find him, I vill give the child for adoption. I cannot take care of it because of my career."

"What do you do, if I may ask?"

"I am a model, _priyatel_."

Hermione pursed her lips. "A model for what?"

"Swimsuits, lingerie, whatever my agency decides. I am mostly on the runway."

"Can't say that I am surprised."

Rayna laughed delightedly. "Please do not judge me for vhat I have told you. I know it is not right, but my _mayka _is old, she cannot care for a child and I am not capable of taking care of a child. I vill end up neglecting the child. I vill give him to someone who vill take care of him."

"A child's place is with its mother but I do understand your point, Rayna, but I do not have to agree."

Rayna nodded in understanding. "I know. I don't know as vell vhy I told you, but I really feel comfortable vith you, Mine. I have not known you for very long, but I feel you are a good person."

Hermione gave her companion a small, demure smile. "Thank you. At the end of this trip maybe we can have lunch in Istanbul tomorrow? I would invite you today but my parents and my boyfriend may have something planned for today. It's my birthday."

"Oh!" Rayna exclaimed. "_Chestit rojden den_! Happy birthday, Mine! I vish you have told me sooner. _Da, _ve vill have lunch in Istanbul tomorrow. It is great then I vill find a gift for you."

"No, no, that's not necessary."

"Nonsense!"

Hermione giggled. "Alright then."

* * *

By lunch time, they have already arrived in Kepez. She walked behind her parents with Draco.

"How was your morning?" Draco asked as he took her hand in his, swaying it gently as they walked through the pavement.

"It was great!" Hermione said animatedly. "When we get home to London, remind me to have aromatherapy massages every week, will you? It was heavenly. I feel so relaxed."

"Aromatherapy? So that explains the flowery smell. I thought you didn't like flowery smells."

"I do now! Anyway, I also had a manicure and a pedicure." She lifted her free hand, where her nails were painted with a design called French tip, and wiggled it under his gaze.

Amused, he gazed into her face for a brief second. "You're so funny, Granger."

"I also spent the morning with my Bulgarian friend." Her voice lost its child-like and excited quality. "Well, she's pregnant, right? She's giving up her son for adoption because she's a model who flits from place to place around the world so she won't be able to take her of him, and also her mother is old and could not take care of the baby. Sad, isn't it?"

"Very. What about the father?"

"She was knocked up by her English ex-boyfriend who seemed to have disappeared on her. She's been looking for him in Bulgaria, but she has a hunch that he's back in England."

"Huh. How inconvenient."

"Isn't it?" She relented. "Anyway, you're going to meet her tomorrow. We'll be having lunch with her in Istanbul. She knows the place like a local, she's been there and back ever since she was little."

"Can't wait," Draco said with a false enthusiasm. "I can't believe our week is over. After tomorrow, we'll be back in the city."

"I know," she sighed. "I was getting attached to that yacht."

"No, you're not. You're getting used to being pampered."

"That, too." She grinned.

Her parents gestured towards a quaint restaurant and the couple hurried after them as they disappeared inside. It was crowded, but they managed to find a table for four.

When their order was taken her mother and father who sat across from her and Draco, grinned at her as they presented her their own packages. Laughing, she opened their presents- a gold, diamond studded watch from her mother and a book from her father.

She turned to Draco expectantly. "What?" Draco asked, smiling at her. She glared at him. "You'll get your gift later, but for now, you only get to have this." From underneath the table, his hand lifted to reveal a bouquet of pink stargazer lilies mixed with blue irises.

She gasped. "How dare you use magic in a crowded place like this?!" She whispered frantically at him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Did you see me wave a wand? Did you hear me say any spell? No, you did not. I merely used wandless, nonverbal magic." He smirked at her. "Don't you like it?"

She grabbed the bouquet and buried her face on the blooms. "I love it, thank you." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek sweetly. "I was worried you'd get me roses or something."

"You hate roses," he pointed out.

"Exactly. Oliver used to get me roses all the time."

"Well, he's a stupid wanker."

"Draco," she scolded as she darted a glance at her parents who merely looked amused.

"You two are just adorable," her mother mused, laughing. "I think he's good for you, Hermione. Unlike your last bloke, Oliver. He was a bit of an ego head, wasn't he?"

"Draco's a bigger ego head than Oliver is."

"_I am not._" He pinched her on the inside of her arm.

"Yes, he is," Hermione told her mother and father. "Oliver's sweet but he's famous and he let it get to his head. _Draco, ouch!_ Draco's an ego head ever since I met him."

"When did you two meet again?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably. "1991? I met her when we were in Hogwarts."

"Oh, wait, hold on - a thought just occurred to me," Hermione's father cut in. "Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he chanted and then recognition hit him and he laughed. "I remember one summer Hermione cried herself to sleep muttering something about a boy named Draco Malfoy."

Draco looked at Hermione questioningly and she blushed. "Mudblood. Second year, remember?"

"Merlin, woman, you cry about me calling you a mudblood but not being petrified by a basilisk?" He asked incredulously.

"Mudblood? Petrified? Basilisk? What are you two talking about?" Her father demanded.

Hermione groaned and glowered at Draco. He shot her a mildly guilty look. She then proceeded to tell her parents about her and Draco's incidents during Hogwarts days eventually moving onto their recent encounter a few months ago: his accident, their friendship, and then the present.

* * *

It was evening, her parents had come back to the yacht, particularly to the piano bar, revealing that Draco has something planned for the two of them. Hermione and Draco went back briefly to change from their summer clothes they wore than afternoon to a more comfortable clothes, considering at night, it seemed that the small town was almost as cold as it was in London at night.

As they exited the yacht, Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Where are we going?" She asked when they seemed to steer clear from the way to the town.

"I figured since we're always dining out in expensive restaurants, why don't we try something new? After all, it _is_ your birthday."

"So what's this new thing we're going to try?"

"_Dah-ling_, you and I are going rowing."

"Rowing?"

"Yes, rowing," he confirmed. They walked further along until they reached the beach where a rowing boat was waiting for them, paddles and all. "I put a few charms on the boat so we won't have to be bothered with the paddling."

She grinned. "I like this. I like how you think, Malfoy."

He pulled away from her and approached the boat. Reaching in, he revealed another bouquet of flowers that contained orange and yellow gerbera daisies, orange and yellow tulips, yellow lilies, and silver eucalyptus.

She walked over to him and grabbed the bouquet. "Thank you," she whispered. Leaning forward, she kissed him, softly at first and then deeply, pouring her emotions unto that kiss, showing him how much she appreciated him and everything he had done for her.

"I got the idea from your mother," he whispered back when they pulled away. He laid his forehead against hers for a moment. "That's what we keep smiling about. We've been planning this ever since I met your parents. It's nothing big, because I know you don't like to make anything a big deal."

"That's right," she replied, kissing him softly again.

Draco straightened and took her hand. He guided her onto the boat. He pushed the boat away from the shore and jumped in as soon as it drifted itself to the water. Immediately, the paddles started paddling themselves.

He sat on one side and she on the other. There was a small table in the middle of the boat and on top of it was white wicker basket. He opened it and set up the small table between them. He dug in deeper and pulled out a few dishes covered with plastic wrapper. _"Voila._ For your birthday dinner, we are having bouillabaisse soup, rissolé potatoes on the side, roast sirloin of beef, and for dessert we are having layered chocolate pudding with tropical fruits. With that we are having your favorite _French Beaujolais_ red wine."

"Wow. I am flummoxed beyond words. This is the best birthday dinner ever. Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed him.

"You have to stop saying thank you some time," he said but he returned her kiss. "It's getting a little old."

Their dinner was a quiet affair. They ate their food, smiling at each other when they caught the other's eye and a few times, Draco spoon-fed her the chocolate pudding. She was blushing after they finished.

Replete, they cleared away the dishes and buried them in the wicker basket. She leapt over the small table and collapsed on top of him. He adjusted them two of the against the cushion underneath him.

Hermione shifted until she was lying against him. "This is the last time I promise. Thank you for this day. Thank you for giving the morning to myself, thank you for the afternoon with my parents and thank you for your company this evening. Frankly, I really can't have a better birthday after this."

He smirked. "It's not everyday you turn thirty."

She grimaced. "Don't remind me."

A comfortable silence settled upon them as Draco clutched her to him. He broke it first. "You deserve better, Hermione. But I know this is what makes you happy so that's what I'm giving you."

"It's perfect."

"You're perfect."

"I'm not."

"To me, you are. You may be bossy, annoying and you have the worst temper there is, but that's what makes you who you are. And you're the only person i know who uses _flummoxed _in an everyday conversation. Do you want to know the best thing about you?" Draco asked her, but his gaze shifted to the steady beat of the black water. "Your compassion. You showed me compassion when I don't deserve it. I'm the last person who deserves you but here I am, with you. Several years ago, I saw the look you gave me during the trial - there was no pity, no malice, no grudge, just your steady gaze full of compassion - I could never forget that.

I realized then that it wasn't the fact that I almost lost my family in the war that I had begun to change. It was when you caught your gaze during the trial that I did. It haunted me for the first years I spent in Bulgaria. Then one day, I woke up feeling like a different person. I started mingling with the muggles neighboring our estate in Bulgaria. I even had a few relationships with muggles. My parents found out and they disowned me, but they let me stay, because they couldn't afford to lose me. I was taking care of them, you see, making sure they don't kill themselves in their state.

They were in deep depression, until it consumed them. My father first and then my mother soon followed after. After that, I couldn't stand living in that place anymore so I went back to London. And that's where you come in.

For the second time, you saved my life. You literally pulled me from death's door and for that I'm forever grateful. Then I saw you at Nott's party and I swear, when I saw you, my stomach dropped at how gorgeous you looked. I think, by then, I knew I was done for.

And then we became friends and that's what we were until we saw your Oliver. _Merlin,_ _I was so bloody jealous I wanted to plummet him right then and there_. But no, we were just friends so I stayed away until I got my feelings sorted out. _And then _I saw you with Krum, I was livid. And then the rest is history."

Hermione, moved beyond words, whose eyes filled with unshed tears looked on him with wonderment, amazed with his speech. She couldn't speak, couldn't even breathe. She wanted to see his eyes, the truth in them, but he continued to look into the water.

He continued to speak. "Don't you wonder sometimes?"

"Wonder about what?" She whispered.

"The irony of you and me. You, Hermione Granger and me, Draco Malfoy."

She laughed shortly. "It _is_ rather ironic isn't it? The universe is funny that way. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

He finally looked at her, his eyes were wide and glazed. "I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to you lose you," she returned, her eyes on his, intense.

"You won't," he said simply. "Not unless you want me to."

"That won't ever happen."

"Maybe."

"Alright, maybe sometimes when you're being a prat I want you to go away but only until I cool down."

"And I want you to go away when you're being a bitch but only until you stop being a bitch."

She laughed because she was happy and then he laughed because she was happy and that made him happy. She laid both her hands against his cheeks and kissed him reminiscent to their first kiss. Tentative, testing, their lips feathering against each other's, their breaths mingling for a few moments before Draco staked his claim.

Tilting their heads for better access, their tongues met in a seductive dance. There was no hesitation this time, just giving and taking. Their hands wandered, exploring the body they had come to know so intimately after merely a couple of weeks. It wasn't long before their clothes disappeared. When he flipped them over, Draco entered her suddenly, ravenous for her, and she sucked in a deep breaths as he started to move inside her.

Their movements rocked the boat frantically, creaking under the pressure and their weight, the water lapping around them. He moved faster, heading her cry, following her demands until the call of their pleasure had them surrendering into white hot climax as they called each other's name.

"Bloody hell," Draco croaked out as he collapsed on her, tipping the boat alarmingly.

"Merlin. Oh, Draco_,_" Hermione wheezed out from underneath him. "Get off me before you suffocate me."

"Can't move," he muttered. "You saved my life countless times so that you can kill me with sex."

She laughed and managed to maneuver herself from underneath him.


	18. Chapter 18

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 18**

The enchanting streets of Istanbul reflected the thousands of years of history and culture. Since their time here was limited, Hermione dragged Draco through every store that happened to catch her eye, they entered a couple of Mosques, experienced the Turkish baths, and visited the Grand Bazaar. Around two in the afternoon, their hands full with bags, their stomachs empty and their legs aching.

Hermione had called Rayna that morning that they were to meet in a restaurant called _Aheste Restaurant Galata _around two thirty. She gave her its address. They had a little difficulty in finding the restaurant but managed to albeit a little late; it was already almost three.

Once they entered Draco rushed towards the loo. Having walked for hours without a bathroom break. Hermione spotted Rayna in the middle of the room, looking a little worried.

"Rayna!" Hermione called as she approached. "I'm so sorry we're late. We got a little lost."

"It's okay, Mine," Rayna smiled at her. "Please sit down. Vhere is your boyfriend?"

"Thank you. He's in the men's room. He'll be right here in a minute."

"Good." Rayna, whose bag was sitting on the seat beside her, dug inside and pulled out a little white box with a gold ribbon on it. "Happy birthday!" She exclaimed as she laid in on the table in front of Hermione.

"Oh, I told you, you shouldn't have. But thank you so much." She grabbed the box and opened it, revealing a gold bangle embedded with what looked like to be diamonds. She gasped. "This looks... expensive!"

"It matters not, Mine. I hope you like it?" Rayna asked worriedly.

"Oh, I love it, really!"

"Good! Now shall we order? This is my favorite restaurant. I recommend _Lahmacun_ and _Yaprak Sarma._"

"I'll just wait for Draco... oh there he is!"

"Draco?" Rayna asked sharply, her eyes wide. "Draco... is your boyfriend?"

Hermione looked at her weirdly. "Yes..." she said carefully.

"Please tell me his name is not Draco Malfoy."

"He is Draco Malfoy." Her eyes darted to Draco who caught her eye. He wore a half smile and then it disappeared at her weird expression. "You know him?" She asked Rayna, but she kept her gaze locked on Draco's.

"H-he's the one I've been looking for."

Hermione paled as she glanced back at the pregnant Rayna. Her heart started beating faster, her hands shook as she recalled Rayna's story yesterday. Draco was Rayna's Englishman. He surely must have mentioned something like this to her. She swallowed with difficulty as she looked back at Draco whose face looked concerned now. It seemed like slow-motion when he finally reached the table.

He paid the other woman no heed as he kneeled beside Hermione's chair. "What's wrong? _Merlin_, you look like you're going to be sick." He placed his hands on each of her cheeks and gasped at the lack of warmth. "Do you want to go back to the yacht? Hermione, say something!"

Hermione glanced away from her and pointed to her companion.

Draco looked at Rayna then. His eyes widened in shock. "Rayna?" He said in disbelief. "What the bloody hell is going on? What are you doing here?" He looked back at his girlfriend. "Hermione?"

Hermione finally found her voice. "She's the friend I've been telling you about."

"The one at the _Celeste_?"

She nodded.

He had only been seeing Rayna from afar and with her back towards him mostly. He had seen her face for a brief moment and thought she looked familiar but dismissed it immediately. He, too, paled as he recalled his conversation with Hermione about her friend. He couldn't look at Hermione now, remembering the haunted look on her face.

"Draco? I have been looking for you everywhere in Bulgaria but I figured you have gone back to England. Am I right?"

He gave a nod in confirmation. "Why are you looking for me?"

"I'm pregnant as you can see and you could be the father."

His felt his insides start to crumble. _"No,"_ he whispered in anguish. "_I can't be_." He looked at Hermione; she was gazing at him impassively, like he was only a stranger. _"No,"_ he said again.

Rayna whimpered. "You vere the last one that I- " She broke off.

"We only did it once! Hell, you have another man on the side, Rayna! It _can't_ be mine!"

"Grigor and I have always been careful. You and I, ve vere drunk that night!"

"I don't want to hear this," Hermione hissed as she pulled away from Draco and stood up from her seat. She ran from the restaurant.

"Hermione, wait!"

"Draco, let her go. Ve have to talk," Rayna cried as Draco stood up to go after Hermione.

He glared at Rayna. "No, Rayna. I _need _to talk to her, make sure she's alright. We can talk after or preferably _never."_

"But your child- !"

"What about _Grigor, _Rayna? What makes you so sure that this child is mine and not _his_? Do you want money? _Fuck_, I'll give you the money, you didn't have to get yourself pregnant and claim that it's mine!"

Rayna gasped in outrage. "I do not vant your money! I have enough of my own! And I do not vant this kid any more than you! I was too late in my pregnancy before I could get rid of it!"

"You disgust me," Draco spat out. "What if this child is mine?"

"I vill have nothing to do with it. I vill leave him to you," she said softly.

"I understand," he said curtly. "And you will be staying in Bulgaria?"

"_Da_. I am leaving for Bulgaria tomorrow and I vill be staying until I give birth in about a month or less."

"I will be in touch." With that he swept away from the restaurant, his footsteps hurried. Out on the street, his head whipped around, looking for a familiar brunette but the streets were full of people. Panic seeped through him, wondering she could have gone.

But he remembered that Hermione was an intelligent woman and she didn't let her emotions manipulate her actions. She was probably back in the yacht, thinking things over.

What a bloody mess.

It hadn't even been twenty four hours that they had declared that they wouldn't lose each other and now here they were with a paternity in question and an unwanted child.

He told her he wouldn't go, not unless she wanted to.

That thought scared the hell out of him.

She was in the suite, packing her things, with her suitcases open on the bed, when he came aboard two hours later. She didn't look up when he entered. She continued to pack, careful that her eyes wouldn't drift over him.

He sat on the edge of the bed, willing her to look at him, waiting patiently.

"I love you," he told her solemnly.

"I know," she answered, still not looking at him.

"Please remember what I told you last night. I don't want to lose you."

"I already told you, you won't."

His felt his insides jump in a rush. "I won't?"

"You won't." She paused from packing and sat down beside him with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry if I ran away. I just don't want to hear you two talking about when you were together."

He carefully placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her gently against his side. "I'm sorry, too."

"I can't believe you were ever with her," Hermione said softly. "She's too beautiful for you."

"Wha- ?"

She laughed. "She's a muggle model and from what I've learned from the morning we spent together, she's pretty much a big deal in the muggle fashion world."

Relief poured out through him when he heard her laugh. "You underestimate my charm," he said in a pompous tone.

She made a face. "What charm?"

He rolled her eyes as he chuckled softly, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. He pulled on her face until she finally met his gaze. Her eyes were puffy. "You've been crying," he accused.

She looked away promptly. "When you didn't come after me I thought that maybe... never mind." She laughed shortly.

"The baby isn't mine," he said. "I'm not even worried and I don't want her. _Merlin._"

"But what if it is?"

"Then we figure it out," Draco supplied. "_If_ the child turns out to be mine, then I will take care of it. Except that _it's not_! Merlin!" He suddenly shouted as he stood up. "That child is not mine!"

"How can you be so sure?" She shot back.

"I just am," he said firmly. "Hermione, I won't be taking the portkey with you tonight. I'm going back to Bulgaria- not with _her_. I'm going to pay a visit to an old friend."

"Old friend?"

"Yes, Grigor, remember? While I've been dating Rayna, she's been sleeping with him on the side. He was one of my friends in Bulgaria."

* * *

Grigor Valko. That was a name he hoped never to hear again. He was one of the few people Draco got along with in Bulgaria even if he was a muggle. In fact, he was a nice fellow. Draco wasn't in love with Rayna but when he learned that Grigor and Rayna were sleeping together, he felt disgusted. It was more like his masculine pride was hurt rather than his feelings. It was he who introduced the two. Grigor even tagged along a handful of times when he and Rayna went out.

The worst thing about it was he had walked in on the two of them having sex on the couch of Rayna's home. He didn't feel anger and he most certainly didn't feel pain. The way Grigor had betrayed was the one that had struck a blow.

Had the man been a wizard, Draco would assume he was in Slytherin and that probably wouldn't have bothered him as much.

Keeping up the image that he was a muggle, he rode a cab in the city where Grigor was living. His apartment was more like a bachelor's pad- everything in it was masculine and it was always messy.

He rang the doorbell and hoped to Merlin that Grigor was in because he wanted to leave Bulgaria as soon as possible. He heard a few strings of curses in Bulgarian from inside. The door flew open and revealed a half naked Grigor. Draco assumed he interrupted something. Good.

Without thinking, Draco clenched his fist and threw a punch that landed somewhere along his jaw. The Bulgarian flew back and landed on his back. Draco swore and clutched his fist. He should have hexed him instead because he never counted that a punch could also hurt the thrower.

"You knocked up Rayna, Grigor. I suggest you do something about it because I want her off my back. She keeps insisting that it's mine and I'm pretty sure that it's not. Go to her," Draco barked out. Grigor, who had finally gotten over his shock of getting punched, finally got up from his place on the floor.

"It's yours, Draco," Grigor croaked, clutching his injured jaw.

"It's _fucking _yours, Grigor," Draco said firmly.

"You are just in denial."

Merlin, he was surrounded with imbeciles. He clenched his fist again, fighting the urge to keep his temper in check. "I'm not in denial," he said tightly. "She's giving birth to a boy in a month or less and you will be there even if I have to drag you on your arse."

"Fine!" the Bulgarian bellowed. "I vill be there for the birth and you will be as vell. So ve can see who the father is."

Draco shook his head at him. "What will you do if the child is yours?"

"I do not know."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Turning his back on Grigor, he heard the door close behind him with a soft click. There were no goodbyes, because it had been an awkward encounter.

Draco knew that there was a way to prove the paternity without having to wait for the birth. Hermione was a healer and she could perform the blood spell. It was easy and it wouldn't harm the baby whatsoever.

The problem was that Rayna and Grigor were muggles, there was no way they could perform the lengthy spell without them knowing. Unless the two were unconscious. Or they were obliviated right after. But then how could they explain how they knew? To explain would be harder. There was no other option than having to wait then.

Feeling suddenly exhausted, he walked into an alley, made sure that no one was around before apparating to the estate where he and his family had been staying for several years.

A portkey lay awaiting his arrival so he can go back home to London, to Hermione who probably doesn't want anything to do with him at the moment.


	19. Chapter 19

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 19**

The London weather suddenly felt harsh after their week under the sun. The slight drizzle of rain on the pavements were rather depressing. Despite the fact that Hermione continued to see him, to kiss him, to make love to him, Draco knew that she was still doubtful of the paternity of the Rayna's son. No matter how much he assured her, she still didn't believe him.

It was a hectic week for him due to the fact that he had taken off seven days from work and so his worked had piled up during his absence. His boss and coworkers had complimented him on the color he had gained after the trip, claiming that he didn't look sick anymore. He had to agree in the physical sense. Inside though, he was a wreck.

It was Hermione's last week of vacation and he was unable to see much of her as he had liked. He went to work earlier than usual, he went home later than usual. So she spent most of her time at either Potter's with Ginny or her parents' home. He had a hunch that she was thankful for the space, for a chance to think and he didn't doubt that she already told her Ginny and her mother about their current predicament. It didn't bother him, because she really needed an outlet and since he was the cause of her troubled mind, he couldn't possibly be her outlet this time.

So when he came home to his flat around nine in the evening, he was surprised, to say the least when he found Hermione lying on the couch in her usual attire when she slept over at his place. A plain shirt with short pajama bottoms. Her thick curly mane was piled in a bun on top of her head and her face was void of any makeup. She was staring at the ceiling when he stepped away from the fireplace.

"Hi," Draco said carefully as he approached.

"Hi yourself," she replied and she sat up, leaning against the back of the couch. "How was work?" She asked as he sat down beside her.

He took her hand in his. "It was grueling. They didn't tell me before I accepted the job that on the side of brewing potions, I have to do a lot of paperwork. And by a lot I meant piles and piles." He grimaced.

"I said the same thing about my job a few years back." She smiled.

"So what did you do today?"

"I came to the Burrow this morning. Everyone was there - the kids I mean. W-would it be so bad if Rayna's child is yours?" She asked hesitantly. "You don't want a child, do you?"

He frowned. "I told you it's not mine. How many times do I have to tell you that? And of course, I want a child. Someday," he added, in case she got any ideas. He really didn't want her to think that he was hoping that Rayna's child was his.

"If the father is opposed to the custody, the child will be given up for adoption," Hermione pointed out. "For all we know, the child could end up in an abusive family. And if the child is yours, well, let's just say we wouldn't want the child to be abused like Harry was, do we?"

"Of course not. Please tell me what you're getting at."

"I don't want the child of my friend to end up with strangers. Strangers to me. I want to be involved."

His mouth fell open in shock when her words sank in. "You want to be involved? Hermione, the child is not mine!" He yelled as he practically threw away the hand that he had been holding. "And Rayna is hardly your friend."

"Yes, she is so my friend. And don't you yell at me, Draco Lucius Malfoy!" She waved a finger in his face.

He fought the urge to bite off that finger. He gave a shout of frustration. "I've had a long day and I'm not in the mood for your verbal sparring. Why don't you leave and come back when you stop being so bloody annoying?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Thankfully, Hermione knew better. "I am not leaving."

"Good." He glared at her and then he sighed. "What will you accomplish with your meddling, Hermione?" His tone, now on a reasonable level again. "I told you, I already talked to Grigor. It's his choice if he wants to be involved with the baby or not. It's none of our business."

She glared back at him. "You are so stubborn. Just listen to my reason, will you? I want to make sure the baby is going to be fine."

"Wow!" He gave a sarcastic laugh. "I'm the stubborn one? Listen to yourself and listen to me. I repeat, Hermione, _this is none of our business_."

"It is my business if the child happens to be _yours,_ it is my bloody business," she declared.

He sighed and clutched her head in his hands. He looked into her eyes. "I don't want to fight. I haven't been seeing much of you lately and I just... don't want to fight, alright? Can we do this later?"

She frowned but she relented. "Fine. I'm sorry if I'm being difficult. It's just bothering me so much and I don't know why."

"Good." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Blimey, since when did things get so complicated?"

"It's bound to be complicated. You're you and I'm me. And I don't doubt that it's going to be complicated all the time."

He grimaced at the thought. "Anyway, I am happy that it's the weekend tomorrow. I can finally catch up on my sleep and also, Pansy is demanding a dinner out of us."

"Pansy?" Hermione perked up, her expression suddenly brightening and then caught herself. "Oh, Pansy. Yeah, alright. Dinner, tomorrow night. _Whatever."_

Draco pulled away from her and looked at her with an amused expression. "Don't tell me you like Pansy."

"I do not. Who would like that pug-faced, emotionally-absent woman?" Draco continued to look at her with that same expression. "She's alright. Not bad, as I originally thought," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Don't tell her I said that."

"I was thinking," he said in a sing-song voice. "You should invite your friends as well. You know, Potter and Potter's wife. Weasley and the actress."

"Chaos," Hermione concluded immediately. "I don't think they're ready for that yet."

* * *

Draco's cheek twitched as he watched Hermione struggle with her gas stove and with it an oven. The stove was about three years old and never been used. _Never._ It was Sunday morning - eight in the morning to be exact. He suggested that they grab breakfast somewhere but she had been adamant about making breakfast for the two of them.

"Is this some early midlife crisis? You know you can't cook, Hermione. Are you really sure about this?" He asked worriedly when Hermione almost sliced her finger with a _very _sharp knife, missing by merely a _millimeter_, rather than the garlic. "You can always cut that using magic, Hermione!" He yelled.

"I know that, you imbecile. You don't have to yell."

Last night had been dinner with Pansy. For the whole two hours, Draco only managed to put a sentence or two. The two women talked like there was no tomorrow, laughing about something on Witch Weekly, shared a few embarrassing moments about him, complimented each other with the dresses they were wearing, gushed over the cake the three of them had shared.

It was amusing really.

It got more amusing when he commented on how well they got along with each other, considering they weren't friends at all.

The two women promptly started insulting each other. Hermione told Pansy that her hairstyle was out of date on which Pansy had countered that Hermione's unruly mane could very well be mistaken for an eagle's nest. Hermione proceeded to tell Pansy that she was gaining a bit of weight from the last time she had seen her and Pansy told her that she was thinning down and asked her if she had an eating disorder. The heartless banter continued until the two of them started laughing _with each other_.

_Women._ He truly failed to understand them sometimes.

"Pansy suggested I try cooking as an outlet for my stress. And I really envy Ginny's ability to make the best meals of my life. Pansy herself enjoys baking occasionally. I believe she's making some crème brulee at this moment and she'll be dropping it some time tonight. We can have it with the dinner I'm going to make for us."

"You're going to make dinner?" Draco blanched visibly on his place, leaning against the counter.

"Yes. I'm going to make something simple like _linguine alfredo_ and roasted chicken. Ginny lent me a cookbook, I've seen her make it thousands of times, and it seemed pretty easy enough."

"Why don't I call Potter's wife so she can see how- "

"No," Hermione cut in. "She's going out with Harry and the kids. Besides," she smiled up at him. "How hard could it be?"

He smiled back tentatively. When she turned back around to the chopping board on the counter, he grabbed his wand the whispered an anti-flammable charm around the kitchen of her flat.

"I'll watch you then," Draco said. "I don't want you to burn this place down."

"I'm not stupid, Draco. And don't think I didn't notice the charm you cast in the kitchen. I already did it before I started mincing this clove of garlic."

He laughed. "I just wanted to make sure."

Hermione's first to third attempts at their practice dinner were futile. The pasta was undercooked or overcooked. The sauce was runny, salty, too think or too much. The chicken was burnt, tasteless or raw. At one point during the afternoon, Draco had gotten sick from eating an overcooked pasta with a very salty and thick sauce. Hermione hurriedly gave him a potion that relieved him immediately.

By late afternoon, Draco relented and helped her cook. Hermione watched over the pasta, making sure it wouldn't overcook. Draco pretended the sauce was a potion and he followed the instruction on the alfredo sauce precisely. However, the chicken was history.

"Not bad," Draco commented once he tasted his concoction.

"Hmm." Hermione grudgingly agreed.

"How is your pasta?"

"It doesn't look overcooked yet, so I guess that's a good sign."

"You know what's the most frustrating about this cooking thing? It's the fact that we are one of Hogwarts' top students and we can't even handle something mundane such as cooking," Draco said. "But then again this is house elf work."

His girlfriend glared at her.

"Joking, of course," he said quickly.

"I think the pasta is cooked," she announced as she turned off the stove. She levitated the pot where it had been boiling onto the sink. With another flick of her wand, she tipped it over the strainer that was already sitting there. She flicked a single string of linguine pasta and tested its firmness. "Not too soft, not too hard. We're good, Malfoy." She turned around and beamed at her boyfriend. "We made a successful pasta dish!"

"Well it's about time," he muttered. "We managed to waste about three pots of white sauce and four wrappers of linguine. And don't forget two whole chickens. We're never doing this again."

"Speak for yourself," Hermione replied haughtily. "From now on I'll be making my own meals."

"Now, let's not be hasty, shall we? I don't want to drag you over to St. Mungo's one day for food poisoning or something."

"You arrogant git!"

He started laughing at her offended expression.

"Why do you always tease me so?" She pouted. "Oh, wait, it's almost six! Pansy's going to be here any minute. I'm going to freshen up. Ask her if she wants to stay for dinner, will you? Great, thanks!" Without waiting for his reply, she ran from the kitchen.

When Hermione emerged from her bedroom, Pansy was talking with Draco on the dining table. There was a circular covered dish between them. She smiled as she approached the two old friends.

"Hi Pansy. I took your advice, I tried cooking and you were right. It is rather therapeutic." Draco snorted. Hermione glared at him warningly. "Pansy, will you stay for dinner? We made it it," she added excitedly.

"Don't," Draco whispered audibly. "If you value your life, don't."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Why not?" Pansy said. "Get your potions ready just in case I get sick. Draco told me how much you two have struggled throughout the day. Honestly, you two are hopeless idiots. How did you not burn down your flat yet?"

"Hopeless idiots, Parkinson?" Hermione snarled. "I should hex you for that."

"Right after I hex the pug-faced creature," Draco told Hermione.

Pansy merely shrieked with laughter, not offended in the least. She continued to tease them on their cooking struggles as Draco also continued to tell her about them while eating their _somewhat _decent pasta meal with red wine.

Grudgingly, Hermione began to change her opinion about the former Slytherin.

Like Draco, she was merely misled. But unlike Draco, she didn't have the eye-opening struggles. Once upon a time, Hermione wanted nothing more to hex this girl until she cried when she opted to offer Harry to Voldemort during the Battle at Hogwarts. But over the course of time, Hermione realized that Pansy Parkinson was merely scared. After all, not everyone was blessed with the ability to be courageous; especially at the mere age of seventeen, who wanted to die? No one did.


	20. Chapter 20

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 20**

It had been a rather busy day, considering it was her first day back after being gone almost a month.

She wasn't her usual snarling self because she was distracted from the fact that Draco might be a father to an unborn child with what she considered now was her friend. The healers were actually worried about her, especially Deirdre, who came over to her office while she was hunched over paperwork asked if she wanted to grab for some tea.

Beside the paperwork, there had been a couple of hours around late morning and noon that were so busy because there had been a duel between two neighbors fighting over a dog's feces landing on the neighbors open yard. The two had injured each other badly including two other neighbors who came over to break up the duel.

Having used to doing nothing for almost a month, she felt exhausted after she had treated these injured fools.

On top of that, the first floor had been short on healers and so she managed to fill her day with helping out on their floor. Some of the healers-in-charge sought her out for second opinions, asking favors, demanding answers. It seemed that her 11 hours in the hospital just wasn't enough.

Oddly enough, she felt satisfied unlike the last time she had been in St. Mungo's, when no one noticed her presence.

Also, she wanted to be with Draco because she was so used to his constant presence in her life now. But on the weekdays they hardly ever saw each other. He was still catching up on his abandoned work, so he left his flat early and went home a little late. She felt empty without his presence. She felt restless without his presence. She felt lonely without his embraces. She felt hungry without his kisses.

She had just come home from work. She changed into her most comfortable clothes and was settling in for the night after her exhausting day when the telephone shrilled. She ran to the phone because it would probably her parents. And they never really called unless there was an emergency.

But the caller had her heart dropping down to her stomach. It wasn't her parents.

"Mine," Rayna's husky voice sounded calm through the telephone wires. "I just vanted to let you know I am leaving for the hospital now."

"Why?" Hermione replied worriedly.

"I am to give birth as ve speak."

"But it's too early!"

"_Da. _Yes, it is." Rayna sighed.

"Thank you for letting me know. We will come as soon as possible."

Rayna gave her the location of the hospital she would be admitted to. She replaced the telephone on the cradle and felt lightheaded.

Hermione was panicking. She was worried for Rayna's welfare and the baby's; majority of premature births were survivors but there was still a chance that the baby could not be. She didn't really know why she was as concerned as she was when she didn't really have anything to do with the baby... well, except for the fact that the baby could be Draco's. But he was adamant that it wasn't his.

Draco sighed tiredly as Hermione paced across the floor of her bedroom. It was already eleven in the evening and he came straight from his office to her flat. "Hermione, it's going to be fine."

"We can never be too sure. I really do hope they get through this."

"You have nothing to worry about," he said for probably the tenth time that night. She wanted to take a portkey to Bulgaria but it would be suspicious as to why they would arrive so promptly since the travel time for the muggle way would take about twelve hours.

"Why are you so unconcerned? Your child could be in danger!"

"That is not my child! How many times do I have to tell you that?" This didn't annoy him anymore. It merely exasperated him. "Hermione, I only slept with Rayna once and that was a few days before I left for England. If the child is mine, she shouldn't have been as far as she is today."

Hermione stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "What?_ WHAT?"_

"She should be only about six months if I had gotten her pregnant."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Draco looked at her incredulously as he ran a hand through his hair. "I did."

"You did not!"

"I must have! Merlin, Hermione, I keep telling you that the child is not mine but you don't believe me. I guess my word wasn't enough, huh?" He muttered bitterly. "You needed to hear an explanation before you believe me." He gave a little harsh laugh.

Hermione flinched and glanced away from him. He was right. She didn't trust him enough to believe his word. Guilt started to override her being, remembering the short bark of sarcastic laughter. He wasn't angry. When he was angry, he usually trashed things about or shouted at her. This time he did neither. He was hurt and she didn't know what to say how to make it all better.

She looked back at him, meeting his now steely gray eyes. His eyes, usually were cool or sparkling when directed at her. But now it wasn't. She suddenly felt chilly under his gaze.

She couldn't deny what he had said because if she did, she would be lying in his face.

"Grigor managed to convince Rayna that I was the father of the child. Rayna is a nice girl, but she isn't exactly the brightest. Well, actually, she's hopeless when it comes to him; she'll believe anything he says. He doesn't know that I haven't slept with Rayna in the three months we had been dating."

Hermione wanted to cry, but she felt emotionless at the moment. Draco's tone was as bland as his gaze. "I wish you had told me sooner," was all she said.

"I thought you trusted me."

"I do," she said softly.

"_Bullshit_. I told you time and time again that it's not my child but you continue to think that it is. I wasn't testing you, but I was hoping that you would believe me _despite_ how hopeless situations may seem."

"I'm sorry, alright!" She yelled, her temper getting the best of her now. "I can see that I have been handling everything wrong way. You have to see this from my point of view. What was I to think then? The bloody evidence was staring right in my face and your lack of explanations didn't help matters! _Merlin, Draco_. I have been friends with you for months, been your lover for weeks and you accuse _me_ of not trusting _you_? Do you know how much I had to struggle to give myself to _you,_ of all people?"

She knew the words came out wrong but she was blinded by her anger.

"Well I'm sorry for the struggle you have been through. _No one forced you into this relationship_!" Draco yelled back. "I certainly didn't force you into anything! I gave you an option. You want in. You did!"

"I don't know what to say," Hermione said softly.

"You don't have to say anything," Draco bit out coldly before slamming out of the bedroom. The loud bang of the bedroom door echoed right down to her very core.

And then there was silence and it was deafening.

Hermione was torn. She wasn't sure if she should go after him and demand his forgiveness or stay in her home, curl up in a ball and proceed to cry herself to sleep. She was so exhausted from her work, added to that was the pressure of worrying over Rayna and the emotional stress after her fight with Draco.

This fight wasn't like their usual fights. This was different. All the time, they walked out on each other but give or take a few hours, they would laugh it over and engage in make up sex.

But it was past two in the morning and he hadn't returned.

Defeated, she surrendered herself to slumber and hoping that he was there in bed with when she woke up.

* * *

Of course it was wishful thinking when she woke up a few hours later. The side of the bed Draco had claimed for himself was cold and like a zombie, she proceeded to get ready for another long day at work.

Why had no one warned her that love was _this_ tough?

With Ron and Oliver, she had never felt anything as devastating as this with Draco. She never let her emotions manipulate her person, her mind always coming out as victor with her reactions. Maybe she really hadn't been trusting him as fully as she had let on. She did trust Draco not to cheat on her, but nobody told her that trust went a little deeper than fidelity.

This was the reason why she didn't date _that_ much. She was one of the best healers, she was intelligent, she was expert on medical and academical advice, but with the matters of the heart?_ She was utterly and impossibly hopeless_. She _always_ used logic and tactical skills when handling situations with the others but with Draco? She just always loses control and let her emotions get the best of her.

What was so different about him from the others? She truly didn't know.

And she also learned something about him during their fight. He was more emotional than he had been letting on... well, everyone had been _that_ at some point as the aftermath of the war.

Before the war, she was open, friendly and cheerful but after the war, she had acquired walls around herself that most of the people could never penetrate, even her friends. Former friends, that is. At one point, she had even withdrawn from Ron emotionally, which she realized now that it was turning point of their relationship, resulting in breaking up and choosing to remain in a platonic relationship. She then kept her friendships to minimum, limiting only to Harry, Ginny, Ron and the entire Weasley clan, Viktor, Juliet (who she had met a couple of years ago in a cafe where the barista had gotten her order all wrong and Juliet who ordered the same thing gave hers in exchange. _A true Hufflepuff that girl was_), Oliver (but not anymore), and finally Draco.

Like yesterday St. Mungo's was packed. Healers, medi-witches and other employees called on her left and right. Which was just as well, because she really needed the distraction. But unfortunately, it was short-lived. Some time around late afternoon, everything mellowed down. Patients who came in merely carrying minor injuries that the healer trainees could handle by themselves.

She decided to give Draco some space. She'd give him a week... and if he wasn't around by then, she'd come to him.

But for now, she couldn't stand being alone. She found herself flooing over to the Ron's flat in Diagon Alley late that Tuesday evening.

When Ron met her in the drawing room, she instantly collapsed in his arms, sobbing like a little girl who had just lost her puppy. Smartly, Ron just held her, murmuring soothing words in her ear, waited until she calmed down.

When she was finally calm, she pulled away from him, wiped her wet cheeks with the sleeves of her blouse. "I'm s-sorry," she hiccuped.

"What did Malfoy do?" Ron asked tightly.

"What made you think Draco did something?" Hermione responded, her eyes lowering. "I hurt him."

"Hermione?"

"It's a long story. There's been a mix up and I hurt him by not trusting him, by not believing in him. I messed up," she muttered sadly. "I messed up real bad, Ronald."

Ron swallowed, not used to an emotional Hermione. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her to the small kitchen of his flat. "Come on, I'll go make us some tea."

"Do yo have chamomile?"

He grimaced. "No, I only have Earl Grey."

She sniffed. "I guess it'll have to do."

Once Ron had managed a cup of tea for her, they settled on the counter stool, side by side. "Now tell me everything."

Normally, Hermione would run off either to Harry or Ginny when she had problems like this because they always knew what to say to her, what advice to give her. With Ron, she found comfort within him and he always managed to make her laugh. She needed an ear to listen and arms to comfort her and so here she was.

So she poured out her heart to him. She started on the day they boarded the _Celeste_ and everything else in between, leaving out the intimate part of their relationship_. _She started tearing up when she told Ron about their day in Istanbul where Draco had finally met Rayna and it turned out that they used to date each other, and also Rayna suspecting that Draco was the father of her unborn child. She then told Ron that a man had managed to convince Rayna that Draco was the father.

She repeated over and over that she was wrong to doubt Draco and that she didn't know now what to do how to make everything right again. Ron kept nodding in understanding, stroked her hair when she teared up and tried to say the right things.

"Hermione, I have to be honest you with you. I _hate_ Malfoy and probably always will. But what I hate more is the fact that you're unhappy without him. I love you so much," Ron confessed, laying a gentle hand on her cheek. "So go forth and make things right with him. Just give him a little space for a few days to cool off." He brushed away the lone tear that unexpectedly slid down her cheek.

"Thank you, Ron, and I love you too," Hermione replied softly, pulling away from him. "When did you become so mature?"

"I don't know. Must be the weather, " he shrugged.

She laughed, having forgotten Draco for a moment. Ron proceeded to cheer her up for the rest of the evening with his wisecracking sense of humor until she was completely dry-eyed and relaxed.


	21. Chapter 21

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 21**

Exactly five days had gone by without sight nor sound from Draco. Hermione successfully distracted herself from his absence by working eleven-hour shifts and shutting herself in the Janus Thickey Ward on fifth floor, taking care of the permanent resident patients there, giving them their maintenance medicine. It was crazy for her to do so, but when she went home she hardly notice how lonely her bed was due to her exhaustion.

She even went to work on her days off.

By Monday night, she was shooed away by the overall Head Healer of St. Mungo's from the place around five in the afternoon and demanded not to come in to work the next day not before twelve noon.

"Healer Granger," the bearded middle-aged Head Healer of St. Mungo's, Rexton Tabbart, said when he summoned her into his office. "Please go home, we really are grateful for your assistance in _every_ department of this hospital, but _please_," he pleaded, "Get home and get some rest before you become a patient. Really," he said when her eyebrows shot in surprise. "You don't think I won't be able to notice, the bags under your eyes, your bloodshot eyes. And also, the other healers _and_ patients are complaining with your scary demeanor."

"Excuse me? Scary demeanor?" She gasped.

"Pardon my choice of words," Healer Tabbart said quickly. "Go home," he added softly.

"B-but- "

"And I don't want to see you tomorrow before noon."

"But- "

"Now," he barked.

Hermione jumped. "Yes sir," she muttered meekly as she turned to leave his office."

"Oh, by the way, Healer Granger," he called again.

"Yes sir?"

"Remember: I don't want to see your face tomorrow morning. Come here around noon or one in the afternoon, whichever you prefer."

"But why?" She all but whined.

"Just do as I say, or you will be dismissed from this hospital."

_"What?"_

"You heard me. Now go."

She whimpered and ran from the office room. Really, she hadn't meant to interfere and be a hindrance, but she needed to do _something_. She went to her office, fixed her paperwork and leapt to the locker room, changed out of her healer robes and went home.

The sun was still up when she entered her empty flat. She collapsed on her couch with a loud sigh, prompted her feet up the coffee table loudly and groaned out loud... and then she thought of Draco.

She didn't think she was ready to face him yet. Really. What would she say? She was at a loss. Wasn't there a book on relationships when a woman messed up? _Of course there's none_, she scoffed at herself.

_Do you know how much I had to struggle to give myself to you, of all people? _She told him, well more like yelled at him. Which was now she realized the wrong thing to say especially because she didn't mean it.

She sat up at that thought. _She didn't mean it!_

She was angry and she lost control of what came out of her mouth. She gave herself to him because she wanted him, all of him. She didn't fully trust him because she was _scared shitless_ because there was a possibility that Rayna would want him back _in spite_ of not wanting the baby. And who the hell could resist a girl like Rayna? _Damn herself and her insecurities! _In her defense, she led herself to believe that the child was his so if that were true, she wouldn't have to beat herself up over it when it was confirmed.

But the child _wasn't_ his! And she believed him now, truly and wholly. It had all been because of her stupid insecurities.

Suddenly, hope filled her whole being, her spirits lifted. She didn't want things to end with Draco. If it had been another man and failed to make her as happy as he did, she would let things be and move on. But she couldn't. Because she loved him.

And without further ado, she checked to see if she didn't look as terrible as Rexton Tabbart had said in the looking glass. She went immediately to the fireplace and flooed over to E.M.L. Potions Co.

The sight that greeted her made her step back and in doing so, hit her head on the bricks of the fireplace. Cursing at herself for her clumsiness, she carefully docked from the fireplace this time and straightened herself, brushing at the soot that fell on her clothes.

With a blank expression, she approached the reception table where Draco was sitting on the table laughing over something with that Kathleen. Or Kaitlyn. Or Keira? Whatever the hell her name was. Unable to help herself, she glared hatefully at the said woman when she laid a hand on Draco's arm.

"Really, Kat, thank you for- " Draco was saying.

"Shut up," _Kat_ murmured, smiling up at him brilliantly. "I don't mind doing the head potioneer favors. I'd be glad to cater you."

"Cozy," Hermione muttered bitingly and Draco whipped his head around. His smile disappeared when he caught sight of her.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" He asked, frowning now.

"Why, am I interrupting something?"

"Not really," the woman on the desk practically purred.

Hermione glowered and fought the urge to leap over the desk and beat the _shit_ out of that woman because she still had her hand on his arm. _That bint_. "Since I'm not interrupting anything," she said through her clenched teeth, "Do you mind if I talk to Draco for a moment?"

Smiling slyly, the other woman let her hand trail down his arm for a moment before leaning back on her chair. "No problem."

Feeling defiant, Hermione drew closer to Draco and kissed him soundly on the lips, letting her lips linger on his longer than necessary. When she pulled away, Draco raised an eyebrow at her while the other woman gasped. _Clearly_ she didn't know Draco had a girlfriend.

"Your office," Hermione bit out. "Now."

Without a word, Draco jumped down from the desk. He gestured to a hallway on his right. She followed just a pace behind him as he disappeared into a room secured by double doors. She locked the door behind her manually and she turned to her boyfriend who was standing in the middle of the room, his hands lame at his sides as he looked at her expectantly.

Instead of throwing herself in his arms as she had originally planned when she left her flat, she glared at him as she mimicked spitefully, "_I'd be glad to cater you_."

Draco adapted an annoyed expression. "I know you didn't come here to insult my coworkers." He crossed his arms against his chest.

She closed her eyes as if in pain and leaned against the closed doors behind her, jealousy still ringing brightly in her veins. She had never been jealous because of another woman before (excluding Lavender Brown, may she rest in piece, during sixth year). Not even when she was with Oliver who was off gallivanting all over the world with fan girls surrounding him, she never got jealous. Well, she shouldn't be surprised. She had been experiencing new things with Draco ever since they got together.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, concern evident in his voice.

She opened her eyes. "Hi," she said in a small voice.

"Hi yourself," he replied carefully. "Why are you here?"

"I miss you," she said softly. "I miss you so much."

He didn't say anything and frowned at her.

She felt compelled to continue speaking. "You were right," she said. "I didn't trust you enough but it's not you. It's me. I was just scared that I might lose you to Rayna," she laughed shortly, bitterly, "I had this notion at the back of my mind that if somehow the child is really yours, you'd have to get in touch with her all the time and she might want you back. Of course, who could resist Rayna? She's very beautiful."

"She may be that," Draco agreed quietly. "But I prefer you."

Hermione gave him the smallest of smiles. "Insecurity is a funny thing. It tends to grow into something awful until you get blinded by it and it consumes your entire being."

"You, Hermione Granger, insecure?" He muttered incredulously. "You're too intelligent to warrant that emotion. Or so I thought."

"_Actually_, I'm almost always unsure of myself. I only hide it so well."

He gave her a doubtful look.

"And insecurity is not an emotion," she added. "It's a state of the mind." He rolled his eyes and she took this as a sign that she was finally breaking through him so she went straight for the goal. "Draco, I didn't mean what I said when I told you that I have to struggle greatly to give myself to you. That was a complete and total lie. I was angry, you see," she licked at her suddenly dry lips. "And when I'm angry, I lose control of what I say."

He uncrossed his arms from his chest. "Really?"

"Really," she confirmed and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"You really didn't mean it?"

"I didn't mean it."

He gave out a sigh in relief and the frosty mask he wore slid off fully. He now wore a... hopeful expression? Hermione wasn't sure so she had to make sure.

"Are you still mad?" She whispered.

"No."

"Can I jump in your arms now and kiss you until we turn blue?"

"Ye- wait, what?"

She smiled fully. She took a step forward, another one, and then three more until she was standing a few feet away from him. His small smile was the encouragement she needed and literally leapt forward in his arms. He stumbled miserably and thankfully, his desk was there to catch them as she collapsed against him. Her hand crept behind his head and she pushed it until her lips crashed with his. She moaned at the relief that went through her as he kissed her back with equal enthusiasm she showed. _Merlin_, _she missed the feel of his lips on hers._

The thought of almost losing him because of her stupidity had her whimpering against his mouth. She kissed him harder for a long moment before pulling away from him. She laid a hand on his cheek, her eyes focused intently on his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You know, for being such a total insecure bitch."

He chuckled softly. "You're not a total insecure bitch. You're just a plain old bitch."

"Thank you for that," she muttered dryly.

"Anyway," he said loudly. He shuffled until he was sitting fully on top of the desk and she was snug on his lap, with her legs draped over his. "You said something about kissing me until we turn blue?"

She grinned, her fingers curling to pinch his cheek. "Cheeky, Malfoy."

He rested his forehead against hers and the arms around her tightened. "I missed you."

She pulled away from him. "It didn't look it when you were flirting with _Kat_," she spat out the name venomously. "In fact, you two looked pretty _cozy._ You didn't even notice when I came in and I made a great racket. That's saying something, isn't it, Malfoy?"

"So that's what the show earlier was about?" He guessed, his lips twitching on the corners, referring to the kiss in front of their receptionist. That one really surprised him because she positively hated public displays of affection. She even objected to holding hands sometimes.

She jumped off his lap, ducking his arms that tried to reach for her. She waved a finger in his face. "Y-you were openly flirting with her. _Kat, thank you for this bloody romantic gesture_," she lowered her voice to mimic his. "I ought to wring her neck and y-yours. Especially yours. You _know_ that she likes you, Malfoy. She said so herself back during the party, or don't you remember? And what are you doing to her blatant flirting? You encouraged her. Gazing into her eyes, laughing with her- _Merlin_, give me one good reason not to hex your bollocks off right now."

He merely looked amused. "You know, you're really funny when you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." She made a face at his ridiculous notion.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Whatever, Granger. Why are you even here? You're supposed to be in St. Mungo's."

"They kicked me out."

"Kicked you out?" He gaped at her.

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently. "They made me leave early because I've been working too much, or so they say. I've got the rest of the day off and the whole morning off tomorrow as well." She frowned. "I think I should just quit and set up my own clinic or something. Anyway, why were _you_ flirting with the receptionist? You're supposed to be working."

He rolled his eyes. "It's none of your business what I do during my working hours. But since you're _dying_ to know, I was thanking her because I made her run around doing errands the entire week because we're short staff around here for the time being."

"Right," she muttered sarcastically. "I'll leave you to your work."

He stood up as Hermione started walking towards the door. "But I thought we're going to spend the day kissing until we turn blue." He grinned roguishly.

Hermione turned back and smiled softly at him. "We can do that later... that is, if you're coming over."

"Definitely," he murmured as he caught up with her again. He carefully placed his lips on hers. He kissed her again, softly at first and then his tongue came out to lick her lips, running over them until they opened for him. They stayed like that for a long moment, kissing intensely, savoring each movement of their lips, making up for a whole week apart.

"Never mind," she whispered when they pulled apart to catch their breath. "Never mind." She kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, bringing her body to mold against his body.

Draco moaned in appreciation, lifting her form slightly and he dragged the two of them, around his desk and collapsing on his office chair. They fell into the similar position before: her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist, their torsos a few inches apart.

This continued for a very long moment. That was, until they were interrupted by a knock on the doors. Draco pulled away, groaned in annoyance. "Yes?" He called out to the closed door.

"Draco." It was the receptionist. "Mr. Liebeck wants the monthly report immediately."

"Draco?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. "Tell Liebeck that I'm still going over it, give me fifteen minutes tops!" He called out to the receptionist.

"Okay," the woman behind the door replied brightly.

"I'm sorry if I distracted you from work," Hermione said as she stood up from his form. "I'll see you later?"

"Definitely," he answered, smirking. "You might want to, err, fix yourself a little before you go out."

"What do you mean?" She responded lightly and walked out of the office promptly, down the hallway, stopping before the reception. She fluffed her hair now, combed through it frantically. She rebuttoned the first four buttons of her blouse that Draco had undone, tried to straighten the wrinkles on her clothes before smiling at the gaping receptionist.

"Stay away from my boyfriend or I'll have leeches crawling out of your nose," Hermione said as sweetly as she can manage with an equally sweet, but fake smile plastered on her face.

They heard Draco's loud laugh from the end of the hallway. Smirking in response, she proceeded to floo back to her flat to wait for Draco.


	22. Chapter 22

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 22**

Since they were unable to make it to the hospital for the birth of Rayna's son, they made an appearance to her home in Sofia, Bulgaria. The city was compact and walkable, with a dynamic vibe where the east meets west but Hermione took no notice of it because she was furious.

Although she believed her to be a friend, Rayna Pavlina was a heartless bitch.

They were gaping at the elderly woman who introduced herself as Iva Damyan, the Pavlinas' housekeeper ever since Rayna was a tiny tot. Iva revealed that Rayna was out in Cannes for an important fashion show.

_A fashion show, more important than a baby's welfare?_ "And where is the baby?" Hermione asked quietly despite what she was feeling at the moment.

"Up the room, sleeping," Iva replied, struggling with her english. "Who you?"

"Hermione Granger and this is Draco Malfoy," she introduced.

"Her- " the white-haired woman frowned. _"Edin moment."_ She held up a hand for a second before she ran inside, as fast as her rheumatic knees could carry her, leaving the front door ajar while the couple stood awkwardly on the front porch steps. She reappeared about two minutes later, waving a piece of paper.

Hermione grabbed it when Iva shoved it to her hand. She gasped as her eyes skimmed the entire page. And then she paled terribly.

"Hermione?" Draco asked worriedly.

She shoved the paper over to him. And when he was finished, he too, paled a tad.

"I'll kill her," Hermione muttered, ignoring the Iva's gasp. "How could she do this to me? How could she?!" She screamed.

"_Ela s men_. Inside," Iva said solemnly and the agitated couple followed inside the Pavlina family estate. She proceeded to the stone spiral staircase, into a room that was left lightly ajar.

Hermione swallowed hard as they entered, spotting a crib in the middle of the room. Before they reached it, she collapsed on Draco, whose arms automatically curled to support her weight. "I don't think I can do this," she whispered.

"We don't have a choice for now. I'll fix it, I promise," Draco replied quietly.

_"Sajaliavam."_ Iva presented a folder that contained piles of documents. Draco grabbed for them before Hermione could, not wanting her to be more upset than she already was. Iva then walked over beside the crib. "Come." When the two reluctantly came forward and peered at the sleeping baby, she beamed. "_Stefan Andreas_," she breathed, cooing over the baby bundled carefully in a blanket.

Hermione peered over it and almost gasped at the tiny human. "Stefan Andreas," she repeated, reaching over to ran a finger lightly down the cheek. "He is beautiful, isn't he?" She whispered to Draco.

"Yes," he forced out, staring at the slightly wrinkled face.

"We can't use the portkey to go back," Hermione said as she straightened away from the baby and faced Draco. "Apparition is out of the question and we also can't use the floo network. We'll have to travel the muggle way."

Draco grimaced. "I figured as much."

"It's a good thing I'm a healer, or else we'd be really doomed."

"I know. So what do you plan to do now?"

"We'll figure it out later. Right now, we need to take this baby home and get him settled."

"Are you sure about this?" He asked uncertainly.

"It's not like I have a choice, do I?"

"Guess not." Draco looked around the almost empty room. There were merely a few clothes folded neatly on top of a table and a few bottles, milk, and a few toys. "Rayna really meant for the baby to be abandoned," he commented.

"Yes," Hermione muttered sadly as she looked around as well. "She didn't even get him a teddy bear."

"Heartless bitch."

Despite her helpless situation, Hermione's lips twitched at the corners.

Five hours later, they were in Draco's flat. Hermione complained that she would rather be in her flat, but he reminded her that her flat was too small and he had enough room so she relented.

They set up the crib (at least it was new, even if it seemed cheap) in Draco's guest bedroom, a bit dusty but was quickly taken care of by a simple cleaning spell. Hermione clutched Stefan to her chest tenderly before laying him down in a bundle again. He fussed but quickly settled down. She checked his vital signs and other preliminary procedures just to see if he was well.

And he was. Even though Rayna was a heartless bitch, she took care of herself to make sure the baby was healthy.

Hermione set up a muggle baby monitor near the crib, grabbed its counterpart and proceeded to the living room where she had summoned Harry and Ginny earlier. Draco was seated on his reclining chair, with his feet propped up, his gaze intent on the flickering lights of the muggle television, blatantly ignoring the couple seated on his couch who was staring at him blankly.

Harry jumped up as soon as Hermione entered the drawing room. "Hermione," he said, relieved. "You look awful. What's up? What's so urgent that you needed to see us about?"

"I have a baby," she blurted out.

"Excuse me?!" Harry bellowed, jumping up from his seat.

"What the hell?!" Ginny yelled, jumping up as well.

And then they both turned to Malfoy who was looking on with a bored expression on his face. He shrugged. "She was named official guardian to a baby by my ex-girlfriend who later became her friend and is in fact now, a heartless bitch. She's gotten a lawyer fixed all the documents and everything. When we came to visit her, all we needed to do was get the baby."

The couple shifted their inquiring gaze to Hermione. "It's true, the heartless bitch formerly known as Rayna Pavlina, has gone behind my back and done that."

"And this is your ex-girlfriend, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"They met while we were on that week-long holiday. Hermione kept telling me about her friend and I didn't know that it was her until our last day."

"And you're not the father?" Ginny asked.

"_No!_"

The redhead rolled her eyes. "No need to yell, I was just asking. _Honestly_."

"Hermione," Harry cut in, still ignoring Draco. "What do you plan to do with the baby? Are you going to raise the baby or give him up for adoption?"

"We don't know yet," she admitted.

Draco perked up at that, but stayed silent, noticing that she used _we_ and not I, because she wanted the decision to make as a couple. He felt two things about that: delighted and positively scared.

"It's really hard, you know?" Hermione continued speaking. "It's different when _you're_ having a baby because you have nine months to get ready, but to have one that's already alive and kicking, well, you're just at a loss."

"I understand," Ginny murmured in understanding. "We'll help you in any way you can. If you need me to take care of the baby- "

"It's okay, Gin, I really appreciate it," she said quickly. "I can take care of him perfectly. I am a healer, aren't I? I know exactly how infants function, how they develop- "

Harry started laughing. "You make it sound so technical, Hermione. There's more to that than taking care of the baby."

She frowned. "What then?"

"You have to know how to love them."

She froze for a moment. "Y-yes. Well, of course, Harry. I kn-know that, you silly man," she laughed nervously. "We'll manage well, won't we, Draco? But in case we need help, I'll send an owl."

When Harry and Ginny left, Hermione collapsed on the couch with a loud groan, throwing the baby monitor on the space beside her. So far in the last six hours she spent in Stefan's presence, she realized that the baby was not a loud crier. He whimpered when he was hungry or tired, and that was it. The short flight back to London hadn't bothered him at all and it was risk they had to take, considering he was merely two weeks old.

"I was thinking," Draco broke the silence from his place on his reclining chair. "We should get some things for the baby."

_"Stefan,"_ Hermione reminded him softly. "Stop calling him 'the baby'."

"Yes, okay," he rolled his eyes. "We should get some things for _Stefan_. I'm surprised she even managed to name him."

For the whole time since they arrived in Bulgaria, Draco hadn't said much at all, especially when he learned what Rayna had done to Hermione. He'd already gone through the documents in the fat folder Iva had given them. There were two options available: once paternity has been determined, the custody would solely fall on the father. If not acknowledged by the end of the year, the baby would be taken by social services and would be assigned to foster care. The baby was in Hermione Granger's care until this has been settled.

She was taking this more calmly than he expected. In fact, after her little burst that morning, she resigned herself to the situation. She took Stefan in her arms promptly while Draco gathered the little supplies he owned. Without a backward glance, they left the Pavlina estate. Iva closed the door behind them with a soft click.

He, on the other hand, was scared of what may become of them now they have a baby between them.

"What will happen to us?" He wondered out loud.

Hermione sighed again. "We're going to be fine. We can adjust... I think. I know how to take care of a baby but I don't know how to be a _parent_." She groaned. "I'm going to mess up, aren't I?"

"You'll be fine," he assured her.

She didn't reply, but she really hoped so.

* * *

It had been a week and she hardly ever slept. Draco tried to help as much as he can but he refused to let her leave the baby alone with him. He was afraid that he'd do something wrong but he confessed that he was willing to learn. That surprised her very much, because when they learned that she was to be Stefan's guardian for the meantime, he refused to acknowledge the baby.

She had Ginny, James and Albus coming over to Draco's flat so they could watch over Stefan. James was delighted of course, saying he would protect the baby for his favorite Auntie Mine. Funnily enough, Draco didn't mind having them over as long as he wasn't around.

But to be truthful, the two of them weren't really adjusting well.

She haven't stayed in her own flat for longer than half an hour, merely going there to gather clothes, clean up a little at the dust bunnies that gathered in random parts of the room.

But while she took care of Stefan, Draco took care of her.

Hermione slept for three hours each night because Stefan wakes up about every three to four hours because he was hungry or uncomfortable or bored. Occasionally, Draco would drag himself off of the bed and warm up a bottle for him when she refused to waken due to exhaustion from work. But he never held Stefan, merely holding the bottle for him.

"You're a good baby, aren't you, my little Stefan," Hermione cooed as she rocked the bundle in her arms. "Sleep, baby, because I'm too tired from work. Did you have fun at Aunt Ginny's today?" She continued to murmur in a soft, melodic voice until he lulled into sleep. It wasn't hard to get him to sleep at all. In fact, it wasn't hard taking care of him at all.

For what seemed like forever, Stefan stopped fussing and his unfocused eyes drooped, as he pressed his cheek against Hermione's breast. Sighing in relief, she rocked for a few more moments before laying him in his new crib. Draco had bought it for him just the other day - it was painted white all over with golden intricate carvings. Suspended over it, were tiny unicorns turning in a circle as a mobile, dancing elegantly while it played a lullaby. And not only that, Draco also bought practically half of a store - a designer baby store at that! And when she came into the guest room of his flat where they had settled Stefan, she was stunned to find the room completely turned into a nursery. She didn't comment on it when she met Draco there, examining every corner of the room with a hand on his pointy chin. She merely raised her eyebrows at him and he had winked at her before he walked out of the room.

Walking out of the room, she dragged her feet across the floor, her shoulders slumped. She went straight to Draco's bedroom. She collapsed on top of the covers, not bothering to strip off her healer robes.

* * *

She didn't know how long she was asleep but thankfully the door was left ajar so she heard Stefan's cry. Jumping up, her heart beating fast, she ran to the other room. She had forgotten to set up the baby monitor!

The door to Stefan's room was completely open, and she could see Draco peering over the crib, one hand inside. He wasn't moving, he looked like he was staring at the baby. She wasn't sure what he was doing really, because he had his back to her.

Before she marched in, he suddenly but carefully lifted the baby into his arms. Docking behind a wall, she peeked in to see what he was about to do. This was the first time she had ever seen him touch Stefan. She kept a lookout, afraid that he might do something foolish like drop him.

But he didn't and he was very delicate. Slowly, he shifted Stefan so he was pillowed against his chest. Stefan was still crying and Draco started bouncing him to soothe him. "Well, you don't want your bottle and you don't smell. What do _you_ want?" He asked the crying baby. "Stop crying before you wake Hermione. She must be really tired for her to leave you like that. So we're going to let her sleep, you hear? I don't even want to come near you, because you're the spawn of a heartless bitch and a smug bastard, but I don't have a choice now, do I? Because _Merlin_, you might bring down the whole building with all your crying." He chuckled.

Hermione chuckled too, but she still kept herself concealed.

He continued speaking. "I don't know why I was scared of you before. After all, you're just a tiny helpless little bug, aren't you? And you really don't deserve being abandoned like that. You should be thankful then, for Hermione, because she took you in. Other woman I know will probably say 'to bloody hell with it' and they wouldn't lose a wink of sleep while you're being thrown off into some family that might abuse you, or something. That's the greatest thing about Hermione, isn't it?

You know what, Stefan, I'm going to tell you a little secret. Seeing Hermione with you, I can see that she's going to be a good mother. No, not a good mother, but the best mother ever. I wouldn't mind her being the mother of my children."

Tears started to stream down Hermione's face and she tried so hard to muffle her sobs, but thank Merlin, Draco was too focused on Stefan to hear her. She almost didn't notice that Stefan was finished crying as she listened to his words.

"Anyway," Draco said as he started to move forward to place the baby back in his crib. "Don't tell Hermione we're friends now, alright? This is just between you and me. But I'm going to give you everything you need- "

Hermione whipped away from the door and ran back to Draco's bedroom. She couldn't imagine such beautiful words from a snooty, arrogant snob like her Draco. He really was a better person than he was letting on. And he wanted to have children with _her? _A year ago when Oliver had brought up the subject of marriage and children with her, she would abruptly change the subject because she didn't sit well with it; she figured it was because she wasn't ready yet.

As she lay back on the bed, she closed her eyes and instantly saw herself in a flowing white gown walking down the aisle... with Draco at the end, waiting for her. The funny thing about it was she wasn't even scared.

Not at all.

She didn't realize that she was smiling when she pictured a curly blonde brown-eyed little boy, grinning up at her widely, two front teeth missing and all.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note**

Hello everyone! I won't be able to write for a while so here are the next four chapters to make up for my absence. I hope you all enjoy!

Reviews would be very much appreciated. I sometimes navigate the story based on your reviews and/or reactions! When I introduced Rayna, I really intended the baby to be Draco's but I read a lot of reviews saying that they hoped it wasn't his. That was a lot of fun to write.

* * *

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 23**

Hermione welcomed the weekend with crying happiness. She had never felt such relief from leaving the hospital for forty-eight hours. When she woke on Saturday morning around nine, she found Stefan and Draco already in the dining room. Draco forgot the pretense of ignoring Stefan while she was around, but she decided not to comment on it. Draco was on the dining table, reading the Daily Prophet while drinking coffee and the three week old Stefan was happily sucking on his pacifier in his crib.

"Had breakfast yet?" Hermione asked in greeting as she moved to greet Stefan with a soft kiss on the forehead. "I'm starving."

"No," Draco replied, his eyes still focused on the article in front of him. "I'll call for breakfast... Blinky!" Immediately, one of Draco's house elves appeared in front of them.

Draco wouldn't free them much to Hermione's chagrin. Not that she tried to convince him to free them, no. He had to draw a line on that one. He couldn't live off restaurant food forever and if he never cleaned. So instead he requested his two elves, Blinky (who cooks for him) and Fenris (who cleans for him) to hide whenever his girlfriend was around.

"Yes mister Draco?" Blinky squeaked.

Hermione was frowning as Draco talked to Blinky. "Get us some crumpets, egg on toast, hash browns, porridge... Hermione, do you want some Cornish pasties? Never mind, get some of those too. And fruits. And more coffee please. That'll be all Blinky. Thank you." He dismissed her and turned back to the Daily Prophet.

"You is welcome mister Draco." And with that, the house elf has disappeared.

"Stop giving me that look, Hermione," Draco said his eyes still focused on the article that seemed to hold his full interest. "I can _feel_ you glaring at me." She huffed and settled on her seat. A few moments later, he folded up the newspaper and smiled at Hermione. "How'd you sleep?"

"Very good," she responded and sighed. "I've never been so glad to get out of that hospital. Funny, isn't it? When I first started, I didn't want to leave the place. But now, I feel like it's suffocating me..."

"Maybe you're just bored," He suggested thoughtfully. "Everyone tends to have a period of time wherein their passion for their careers extinguish. And didn't you suggest quitting and setting up your own clinic? I think that's a really good idea. You can work on call for St. Mungo's but you don't have to be a resident healer there; you can operate the clinic for a limited time each day as well."

"Wouldn't that be even _more_ boring?"

"I think you won't find that boring at all. You're mellowing in your old age, Granger, you want to slow down from the fast lane that you've been running since you've been a student. You didn't have anything besides work, family and friends. But now that you have something more to live for, you want to change the pace of your life."

"Merlin above," she breathed out softly. "You have never been so accurate, Malfoy."

"So think about it."

"I will," she promised. And the subject was closed as the food appeared right in front of them. Her stomach growled in appreciation since she failed to eat dinner last night, had fallen asleep as soon as Ginny, who had been watching over Stefan, left.

They finished their meal in companionable silence. She stood up gingerly to peer over the drib at Stefan and saw he was fast asleep, his little mouth slightly open and the pacifier dangling. As she pulled it away, Stefan raised his gloved fists in weak protest and she felt her heart swell as he caught the nipple back into his mouth and started suckling furiously.

In merely two weeks, this tiny tot managed to weave himself and took refuge in her heart. How could she survive when the time came when he was to go away? For now, she would concentrate on their time together.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked as he approached her from behind. He heard her sigh so he wrapped his arms around her waist to offer her his comfort.

"Nothing," she replied quietly, laying her head back against his chest. "You haven't kissed me good morning yet."

"No, I haven't." He turned her around and he gave her a half smile before he leaned in to kiss her softly, then deeply, then thoroughly. When he moved to pull away, she raised her hands on each side of his face to keep him trapped. She kissed him fiercer, opening her mouth against his, desperate for his comfort. He felt it, and he allowed himself to be her instrument.

She only pulled away when she couldn't breathe anymore, burying her face on the crook of his neck. She felt his hands move soothingly across her back and she reveled in it. She missed his touch. They haven't made love in a week but it felt like it had been years.

Up until recently, she had control of every aspect of her life. But the recent events now had left her physically, emotionally and mentally drained. Ironic how Draco Malfoy used to be the boy that used to be the cause of similar stress and now turned out to be the man that stood as the cornerstone of her life now.

"I love you," she told him solemnly and she felt his hands freeze. She looked up at him questioningly.

His eyes were wide. "You've never told me that before."

"I didn't think it was necessary."

He wrapped his arms around her fully and squeezed her tightly. "Well, it's nice to hear every now and then."

* * *

Hermione squealed while Draco shushed her with his lips. He laughed quietly. "Shh. Shut up, Granger, or you'll wake Stefan."

It was mid-afternoon now, they were on the living room floor. Stefan had just finished his bottle and was now sleeping again after being awake for three hours just staring happily at the unicorns dancing above his head. The telly suspended on the wall was glaring brightly as the movie continued to play, but went ignored because Draco kept kissing her neck as soon as it started playing. Stefan was in his bedroom but the door was left wide open so if he cried they could hear him.

"Well, you know I'm ticklish there," she protested weakly, but she didn't push him away.

"Maybe if we hurry, we'd be done before he wakes up," he said, hope evident in his voice. "Come on, Granger," he pushed.

She didn't say anything, but allowed herself to be lowered on the floor, still giggling a little bit as Draco continued to kiss her on the neck, his tongue darting out to lick at her delicate skin and smirking when she quivered.

She dragged her hands from his shoulders, his back and down to his arse. She squeezed it tightly and he jumped a little bit. That made her laugh. "Sensitive, Malfoy?" She teased huskily, but she kept her hold on him.

"A bit," he murmured as he sat up and pulled her so she straddled his most sensitive part.

With a seductive smile of her own, she leaned down and kissed him on the lips softly, keeping her mouth closed as her lips moved over them slowly. She squirmed against him when their kiss deepened; he groaned, she gasped.

He pulled away from the kiss and pulled her shirt over her head. He worked on the clasp of her bra, fumbling a little bit, his hands shaking a little because it had been too long. When he got rid of them, he buried his face on her chest, loving each twin with his mouth, with his tongue, nipping a bit with his teeth, emitting sounds of pleasure from the woman before him.

"Ah," she sighed, her hands buried in his soft blond tresses. "Don't stop, Draco... I missed this, I missed you."

"Me too," he whispered between harsh breaths. "You feel so good, Hermione."

After that there were no more words. He fell against the floor, the carpet cushioning his fall. He hissed when Hermione's hand drifted lower, massaging him to full excitement. He caught her hand to still it but found himself unable to and instead he let her continue her ministrations while he wrapped his hand around hers. When he felt like bursting, he pushed her hand away roughly and rolled them over, his leg coming up between her legs to keep them apart.

She clawed at his shirt, desperate for feel of his naked skin against his. He got rid of them quickly, throwing it carelessly behind him. After that he made quick work of her shorts and his trousers as well. When nothing came in between their naked bodies anymore, they merged, kissing anything they reached, touching every flesh they could reach until they couldn't stand it anymore.

They came together in a hurried frenzy, his hands clutching painfully at her hips as they started bucking against each other wildly, grunting and moaning, but controlling as to not make as much noise as they could. Several motions later, they froze in that state of euphoria where a blinding pleasure they claimed at the same time and they fell against each other in pure bliss, their breaths harsh, their chests heaving from their exhorts and their skin glistening in the flashing lights from the movie that was almost at the ending.

Draco fell down beside her on the floor to stare at the ceiling. Hermione stood up to find her clothes but as soon as she stood on her full height she screamed bloody murder.

"What the bloody hell?" Draco asked as Hermione collapsed back on the floor, a grimace on her face.

"Bloody hell, I just saw Hermione's rack," Pansy screeched in disgust as the front door closed behind her and she collapsed against it, slapping a hand over her eyes. "I'm going to need therapy after this bloody encounter."

"Keep your voices down," Draco said sternly as he crawled over to snatch his t-shirt that landed on a heap. He threw it to Hermione who threw it on quickly. "Why'd you barge in here any how?" He asked his old friend, annoyed, still crawling to find his pajama bottoms.

"I kept knocking and there was no answer but then I heard a noise and figured no one could hear me knocking so I just went inside," she replied, still against the door. "Is it safe?"

"Not yet," he snarled.

"Found it!" Hermione announced as she grabbed Draco's pajama bottoms from somewhere near where Pansy was standing. She ran over to Draco and he hastily put in on.

"I should hex you, Parkinson," Draco snarled as he stalked away from the living room and into his bedroom. They heard the bathroom door slam from inside.

"Oops," Pansy squeaked out.

A loud waling broke the silence between the two women standing awkwardly in the living room. "Stefan," Hermione gasped and she disappeared inside another room.

"Was that a baby?" Pansy asked no one in particular. She walked over to the messy living room, eyeing it with utter disgust, complete with a disgusted shudder. She whipped out her wand and cast a cleaning charm over the mess. Five times. She levitated their scattered underwear in a pile. She tried her hardest not to vomit. Really. And she also didn't dare sit on any furniture so she stood in the middle of it.

Later barged right back in from the bathroom, his hair wet from the shower, and thankfully fully clothed. "Where's Hermione?" He asked.

"In that room." Pansy pointed to Stefan's room.

"Stefan woke up then?" He quickly walked over to that room.

Curious, Pansy followed suit and gasped when she saw Draco taking a baby from Hermione's arms. "Since when did you two got a baby?"

"Two weeks ago," Hermione replied miserably. "I'm going to take a shower. Draco, he's fussy and needs changing." She walked out of the room, pulling frantically down at the t-shirt that might reveal her bare limbs.

"You're going domestic on me, Draco," Pansy said as she watch him cradle the baby to his chest while holding a bottle over its lips. "Is the baby yours?"

"No, he's not mine. Not exactly," he added softly. "He's been abandoned by his mother and Hermione was named guardian until the end of the year, if the father decides to gain custody, the father gets Stefan. If not, he'll be given up for adoption. We're taking care of him for the meantime."

"Wow," she breathed. "And she's alright with it?"

"More than alright. She's incredible with him."

"And you?"

"Stefan's alright." He took the empty bottle away from the baby's lips. "You're alright, aren't you, little bug? Hardly ever trouble, except at night because you keep waking us up every three hours."

Stefan gurgled softly at him, his glazed dark eyes staring back at Draco.

"He's so tiny," Pansy observed.

Draco adjusted Stefan over his shoulder so he could burp. He proceeded in a rocking motion, rubbing his big hand softly at his back. "He was born a few weeks early, but he's healthy as can be."

"That's good. And this room." Pansy looked around with keen interest. "Looks like he'll be staying a while."

Draco didn't say anything, just continued rocking Stefan. When Stefan emitted a small burping sound, he laughed deep in his chest. "I love it when this little bug burps. You are that, aren't you, an adorable little bug!" He laid back Stefan lying in his arms again. "Come on, let's go out and wait for your mummy."

"Mummy?" Pansy echoed.

Draco ignored that as he faced his back to her. "Pansy, will you get that rug and a couple of those little rattles?"

As he walked out of the room, with Pansy in tow carrying the rug and the toys, a familiar figure came through the fireplace. He groaned out loud as he caught sight of the red hair. "Potter's wife," he greeted as he proceeded to the living room.

"Granger's boyfriend," Ginny responded teasingly. "Where's Hermione? I thought I'd steal her for a little while. Final fitting for the wedding's tonight."

"She's in the shower. What about the little bug? Who's going to take care of him?" Draco all but whined.

"You, of course," she replied happily... that was until she noticed the silent figure standing behind Draco. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Pansy Parkinson," she barked out hatefully.

Pansy merely nodded in response. Obviously, the youngest Weasley still hadn't forgotten everything Pansy had done to her. In fact, she was actually Pansy's favorite victim. Of course, not to mention the fact that Pansy was quick to turn her friend-now husband to Voldemort back in 1998.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny snarled, her bright brown eyes flashing.

"I was just coming in to visit," Pansy replied in a small voice.

"Ginevra Potter," Draco cut in sharply. "Now is not the time."

"I don't _fucking_ care, Draco Malfoy."

"Language!" He all but screeched. "There is a baby present you know."

"You curse in front of Stefan all the time!"

"It's only okay if I do it!"

"I should hex your arse."

"You wouldn't dare, not when I'm carrying a baby."

"Later then."

"Hermione wouldn't let you."

"Hermione wouldn't even have to know."

"Hermione!" Draco screamed. "Your friend is a nutcase! Get her out of here!"


	24. Chapter 24

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 24**

Hermione managed to dress herself in less than three minutes and she ran to the living room where a loud verbal sparring was occurring, bare feet and hair dripping wet and all. "What the hell is going on here?" Her gaze shifted to Pansy who was standing silently, clutching a rug to her chest, then to Ginny who looked ready to battle, and Draco who was clutching Stefan to him protectively.

"Your friend is being weird, threatening to hex me while I've done nothing to her," Draco tattled as he turned away from the redhead and faced Hermione.

Hermione raised an eyebrow as she turned to Ginny questioningly. "Ginny?"

"Well, he's being an arrogant arse. And what the hell is _she_ doing here?"

"She already told you," Draco said. "And this is my home, you have no right to question my guests."

"Hermione," Ginny whined.

Hermione rubbed a finger against her temple. "You two are acting like a couple of children and it's giving me a headache. Not to mention annoying."

"She swore in front of Stefan. Sorry about that, little bug." Draco glared at Ginny. "She is an uncouth woman."

Ginny glowered at him. "You miserable arse."

"You redheaded twit."

"You stupid good for nothing son of a- "

"What did we talk about, Potter," Draco growled.

"Gun," Ginny finished weakly.

By this time, Hermione was on the couch, flicking through the channels while Pansy sat beside her. Draco and Ginny continued to bicker behind them. "Movie?" Hermione asked Pansy.

Pansy grinned. "Something funny, please. I don't want to cry my eyes out again, but _If Only_ was a pretty good one."

"Great... listen, about Ginny, just ignore it. She really can hold a grudge."

"Don't worry about it," Pansy murmured, smiling weakly at Hermione. "It's my fault, anyway."

"We were kids, we didn't know any better."

The former Slytherin nodded. "Enough about that, Granger. Go set up that movie."

When the movie has started, Draco and Ginny weren't shouting now but they could still hear them insulting each other if not talking to each other in a defensive way. "They're still at it," Pansy observed, sneaking a quick glance at the two.

"Yes," Hermione laughed. "They get along better than they're letting on. They just don't want to admit it to anyone with the history between the Malfoys and the Weasleys. Draco wouldn't admit it but he finds Ginny amusing because when she gets worked up, she really gets worked up. Ginny finds him not bad at all, but she wouldn't admit it to Harry. We actually find it amusing."

"And Draco's chummy with Potter?"

"Not even close," Hermione murmured. "They're civil with each other, but they don't interact when they don't have to. It's really awkward for them. Well, you know how men are."

The two laughed quietly and further conversation was prevented as they focused on the movie. Some time in the middle, Draco had laid out Stefan's rug near Hermione's feet and laid him down gently. He was talking to him, too low for her to hear what he was saying, while he jingled a rattle over Stefan's face. Ginny was sitting on Hermione's other side, also focused on the movie now.

It was a peculiar two hours to say the least.

A little while later, Draco sighed and looked up at Hermione. Noticing his gaze on her, she returned it. "He's tired already."

"Well, he's three weeks old, he functions every three to four hours. Five hours at the most. In about two weeks, he'll start sleeping less. You'll get more time to play with him."

He grinned. "Thank you for that information, Healer Granger. Now get this baby to sleep as I'm tired now as well."

Rolling her eyes, she obliged, climbing down the sofa and crawled over to where her two boys were. As if on cue, Stefan yawned, his tiny mouth stretching, his face scrunching up in an adorable way. "Poor little thing. Did Draco wore you out?" She cooed, lying down on her side to face the infant. She dragged her finger across his plumping cheek.

Draco sat, watching Hermione with the baby, an odd feeling settling in his chest. He laid a hand on her thigh, stroking it. He chuckled softly. "I was trying to make him laugh. But so far, the closest I've got to a laugh is a smile. I think he's starting to like me."

Hermione shook her head. "That's fine, as long as he likes me the best."

"Just give him some time and I'll be his favorite person."

She made a face at him in teasing and placed her hand on the hand on her thigh. She squeezed it, deliriously happy for some reason.

Moving her gaze away from Draco, she leaned up on her hand hummed a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her as her other hand started to tap gently Stefan to sleep. Draco moved to Stefan's other side and watched the two of them, a peculiar expression on his face.

The other two women watched the couple with the baby with interest, instead of the movie. They sat still in their own thoughts, embarrassed that they were witnessing something private between that should have only been between the three of them. Smartly, they stayed silent and forced their gazes back on the telly in front of them, not wanting to intrude any longer than they already have by coming in unannounced in their safe haven.

Hermione and Draco continued to watch Stefan until he fell asleep. They stayed there with him on the floor as the credits from the movie rolled.

"Oh, it's over already?" Hermione asked, standing up from the floor.

"Yes, about three minutes ago," Ginny told her, laughing. "Dawn is waiting for us at the Burrow. By this time, probably the dressmaker's already there."

"But what about Stefan?"

"Stefan will be fine," Draco told her from his place on the floor. "I promise."

"I'll be back in not more than two hours. Mrs. Weasley surely won't let me leave without eating anything."

"And also," Draco added. "I'm sure you'd want to catch up with their whole lot."

Hermione frowned. "That too."

"See, now leave and have a good time."

"But- "

"Hermione," Ginny whined softly. "Stefan will probably sleeping for the next three hours anyway. _Don't worry_."

"Yeah," Draco agreed.

"But I don't really want to leave you," she told Draco and she blushed as Pansy and Ginny giggled, Draco smirked triumphantly.

"Merlin's beard," Pansy breathed out. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"I think it's really sweet." Ginny glared at her.

"I'll be here when you get back," Draco told Hermione softly, ignoring Ginny and Pansy completely. As far as he was concerned, they were a couple of twits who interrupted his alone time with his girlfriend. "We'll be here."

Hermione smiled.

"Okay, time to go," Ginny announced, grabbing Hermione's arm and started dragging her towards the fireplace.

"Oh, wait!" Hermione protested and shook off her friend's hand. She walked back over to Draco. She leaned down and kissed him on the lips for about a minute. When she pulled away, she winked at him. "A kiss for the way. I'll be back in exactly one hour," she promised. "And when I get back, you better be ready for me. We're to make up for lost time."

Draco grinned in anticipation. "I'm always ready for you. Now away with you, woman, before you drive my crazy."

* * *

"Draco," Pansy said as soon as the two former Gryffindors had left the flat. They were seated on the couch, facing each other. Stefan was back in his room.

"What?" Draco asked as he leaned against the arm rest.

"You and Hermione - you two are very serious, aren't you? It's not just a fling anymore, is it?"

"It's never been a fling to start with. I love her."

Pansy smiled ruefully. "I guess that's pretty obvious with the way you two can't stop touching each other and _Merlin _the looks you give each other. It's pretty disgusting really. It's even worse than Juliet and Theo, and _that_'_s_ saying something. There's not a chance for you and me, isn't there?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and me, Draco."

"There is no you and me, Pans," he sighed.

"There was once."

"Bloody hell, we were just kids. And you're being stupid. _I know_ you don't want me. You're still pining for Blaise, aren't you?"

"Yes," Pansy whimpered.

"It's been years, Pans. He's married to Roslynn... he's off limits."

"Not really."

"Huh?"

"I said," Pansy stressed, "not really. Draco, don't hate me, okay? Roslynn is my friend but I love Blaise... and we're sleeping together."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I know you're not entirely a good person, but I've never figured you for a home wrecker."

"Me neither." She laughed bitterly. "Roslynn is my friend but I hate her so much because she has what I've wanted for a long time. I love Blaise, Draco. But he doesn't love me. He says he does, but I know he's lying because he knows he's got me on the palm of his hand. He says jump, I jump." She groaned and buried her face in her hands. I'm sorry if I burdened this all on you but I can't tell Serena... Serena is Roslynn's best friend, you see, and I'm sure she will tell Roslynn."

"Blaise is my friend, too, but I've always had reservations about him. More so than now. Pansy, you have to end things with him."

"I don't know how. Because every time he's around, I just can't say no. I came here so I can avoid him. He was supposed to come to my place tonight so I left and came here. And he won't dare come here because he doesn't want anything to do with you anymore, you know, because you're involved with Hermione."

"Well, I did expect that," Draco muttered, not even bothered by the fact. "I think it's a good start, you ditching him. You're welcome to hide out here anytime you like. But _please_, send for an owl first."

She shuddered. "Don't worry. I learned my lesson."

* * *

Hermione stumbled out of the fireplace. She was unable to escape the happy confines and festive mood in the Burrow and so she had gone for almost two hours. Every time she tried to bid her goodbyes, she would be caught in another conversation by a male Weasley, or asked for an opinion on an entourage member's dress, or suit, or whatever. So with the help of a knowing Ginny, she managed to slip out into the fireplace.

"Finally," she sighed.

She walked straight into their bedroom but it was empty. Frowning, she went to Stefan's bedroom and he was there sleeping while the unicorn mobile toy played the softest lullaby. She gave him a light kiss on the forehead in greeting. Soon he wouldn't be sleeping too much. She'd give him a week or two.

Next she walked into the living room and sure enough, Draco was there his head was slumped forward and for once he wasn't snoring. The telly was on and playing a rather pointless scene of a lion getting ready to pounce on his prey. No wonder why Draco fell asleep.

Chuckling softly, she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She nudged his head upward with her forehead. She laid soft kisses on his lips, one after another, rousing him from his sleep.

"Mmm," Draco hummed as his eyes finally opened. "What a way to wake up. I'm sorry I fell asleep."

Grinning, she laid one last soft kiss on the corner of his lips. "It's alright. I'm sorry I was gone longer. Mmm, I could kiss you all day."

He leaned back and looked at her. "You're feeling a little clingy today," he observed. "What's up with you?"

She shrugged her shoulders before she slumped down and her forehead fell on his shoulder. "The last few weeks have probably drained me to exhaustion. I'm not used to such excitement in my life anymore. It's not the same as when I was in Hogwarts - escaping trolls, being petrified by a basilisk, time traveling, getting involved with gorgeous foreign men, dueling with Death Eaters, well, you get the idea."

He pushed her upwards and stared at her, dumbfounded. "I knew you weren't exactly as innocent as you seem back then but I had no bloody idea that you went through all of that. Time traveling? I didn't think it was even possible. And what the hell is this 'getting involved with gorgeous foreign men'?" He demanded, purposely ignoring the "dueling with Death Eaters" part.

"Oh. Yes. You know when I had gotten somewhat involved with Viktor. He really liked me then." She grinned at him. "And he was my first kiss."

He scowled deeply. "I knew I don't like him for a reason. I don't ever want to see his face ever again. And that applies for you as well. You are never to see him again, do you hear me?"

"Yes, I hear you. A bit possessive, aren't you?" She rolled her yes. "But no, I won't do it. Viktor is one of my best friends, I will see him whenever I see fit."

"You can see him," Draco relented grudgingly. "But you can't touch him - no hugs and _especially_ no kisses on the cheek!"

"It's not happening, Draco. Just because you don't a few things I do, I won't do it anymore. I will kiss my friends, I will hug them, but there's one thing you have that they don't."

"And what is that?"

"Me," she said simply. "All of me."

"Yeah, I do, don't I?" He smiled goofily. "I'm just jealous because I know because you deserve someone better. But then again, whoever that someone is has to fight me tooth and nail for you."

"Good," she responded saucily. "Now close off the floo connection on the fireplace. I don't want any more intruders this weekend. I intend to save this weekend for myself and my two favorite boys." She winked as she started unbuttoning her blouse. Laughing when Draco threw her carelessly on the couch and grabbed his wand that was in their shared bedroom.


	25. Chapter 25

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 25**

The next following month flew by much too fast for Hermione. She was well adjusted now with juggling her career and her personal life. Now that Stefan was a month and added a few days old, he didn't need as constant attention as he had been before. Draco was now fully capable of taking care of him in her absence. Ginny still stepped in once in a while, sometimes even with Harry. Her parents were also informed of her predicament and helped out as much as they can; in fact, they were delighted and chose to spoil and take care of Stefan as if he was their real grandchild.

Her bond with Draco was still as strong as ever. Though they still fought a lot than the average couple, at least no one had walked out. Not even once. The best part of after every fight, of course, was the making up part.

Draco was now openly smitten with Stefan. He bought a rocking chair to put in the nursery and often times fell asleep with a sleeping baby on his chest while soft lullabies flow throughout the room.

Hermione was too attached to Stefan by this time. Every day, she thought about adopting Stefan as her own, but she was still unsure if she was capable of being a real mother. And although she knew that Draco was a bit attached to Stefan as well, she didn't want to put him in an impossible situation. In her mind though, she called herself Stefan's mummy.

She was, however, jealous that it was Draco who prompted Stefan's first ever real smile.

The three of them has somewhat turned into a family and she was afraid to get _too _used to it. On weekends, they usually spent their Saturdays cramped up in Draco's flat and on Sundays, they took Stefan out to the park, then they would only come back when he started to fuss.

The acceptance of their makeshift family was as easy as her acceptance of her friendship-turned relationship with Draco Malfoy. She still laughed over it, on random times.

But then again, weirder things _have _happened.

_Or not_, she thought to herself laughingly.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked as he walked in the bedroom, having just settled Stefan in his crib for the night. "What are you thinking about?"

"You and me. It still amazes me how after all these years that we end up together."

"Ack," he grimaced. "We keep having this conversation at least once a month."

"I know." She grinned, undaunted by his being annoyed. She knew it annoyed him because she kept saying it often and he was growing tired of it. _Well, tough_. "I'm just wondering how everyone will react at the reunion on Saturday night."

"We're really going?" He asked incredulously as he collapse on his side of the bed, turning on his side to face her.

"Well, why not?"

"_Because _if we go, there will be too much speculation. Everyone will be talking to us, wanting to know how we ended up together and then they'd start having opinions, and so on and so forth. It will be bothersome."

"You have a point there," she admitted. "But don't you want to see your old friends?"

"Not really."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"It would be fine. Didn't you always want to be the center of attention?" She laughed at his scowl.

"Hermione," he said, serious now. "I don't want to go because the truth is they'll either ignore me, point at me and whisper things about my being a Death Eater, and then they'll say things about you how I probably cursed you, or something like that. You know?" He made a face at her, as if saying, 'duh'.

"You have a wicked imagination, do you know that?" Hermione laughed again. "And anyway, since when did you care what the others say?"

"I don't. I just don't want to be bothered."

"I won't let them bother you, alright? If they do, I'll hex them. I know spells, hexes and jinxes as much as Miranda Goshawk," she told him haughtily, referring to the celebrated author of their schoolbooks. "And besides, I miss Hogwarts."

"You mean you miss the Hogwarts' library," he said dryly.

"Exactly."

"So we're going."

"We're going?" She repeated excitedly.

"Yes, yes," he said impatiently. "We're going to blow their minds. How do you think McGonagall will react? She'll probably say the minute she sees us, _step away from Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy. I will not hesitate to send you over to Filch for detention for breathing the same air as my precious Granger_," he mimicked Minerva McGonagall's stern, dull voice. "She'll have a bloody heart attack."

"Ugh, don't insult Professor McGonagall's intelligence, Malfoy. Yes, she will be shocked but I think she'll be delighted." She also mimicked McGonagall. "_Miss Granger, I am so delighted that you have turned Mister Malfoy into a decent human being. He is no longer a snooty spoiled brat that always seemed get his way. I am so proud of you_."

"Snooty spoiled brat, eh?" Draco repeated in low, dangerous voice. His eyes narrowed at her before he sat up and pulled on Hermione's legs, emitting a loud shriek from shock. "I should punish you for that."

"How do you intend to punish me, Mister Malfoy?" She whispered in what she thought to be her seductive voice as he climbed over her, straddling her.

He gripped her hands, entwined them with his and raised way above her head. "I was thinking of throwing you over my knee and paddle your bottom."

"Sounds..._ delightful."_

He froze for a moment, shocked at her audacity, before he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

* * *

"I knew it was too good to be true that we board the train unnoticed," Draco muttered under his breath as Weasley, Potter, and Potter's wife came barreling towards them. Hermione elbowed him on the ribs hard. "Ow! Alright, alright, I won't bother them... much."

Hermione ignored him as she stepped forward to greet her friends.

Draco was already getting curious glances from their former classmates as he strolled through the platform. A few times, they would do a double take and stare up at him with very, wide eyes. He ignored everyone else.

As expected, there were merely a few former Slytherins in attendance. In his circle of friends included Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Gregory Goyle his belowed wife, Millicent, Theodore Nott and to his utmost surprise, Blaise Zabini. As soon as he laid eyes on his old friends, he informed Hermione that he'd be joining their compartment instead and that they would meet up later once they arrived. He escaped as soon as she agreed.

He greeted his friends warmly and ignored Blaise Zabini purposely. But that was fine because he was doing to same to Draco as well. In fact, Blaise broke away from the group and into another set of their old classmates and it seemed that he was friendly with them.

Daphne and Pansy were speaking to each other, laughing, their mouths moving so fast that the other men present couldn't follow through. It seems that their friendship flame had been revived and was now as good friends as they had been before. It also looked that Pansy was ignoring Blaise as well, Draco noted with satisfaction.

"Can't wait to escape the dream team, huh?" Theo said laughingly as soon as Draco reached him.

Draco grimaced. "Can't stand Hermione's lot and she knows it."

"But she gets on well with Pansy and Daphne. I don't think she's that bad either. Why don't you try getting along with them?"

"Nott, you're asking the impossible. You can't know how painful it would be for me to be all chummy with Potter and the Weasleys. And anyway, the feeling is certainly mutual. They don't like me, I don't like them. Quits."

"Fair enough," Theo relented, rolling his eyes. Then his gaze shifted towards the "dream team" and saw that a certain male Weasley was glaring at them, or more particularly at Draco. Hiding a smile, he looked back at Draco. "I was sure you weren't going to come."

"Well, Hermione wanted me to come and I figured I should be there if some old drunk Gryffindor decided to slobber all over her. From what I've heard, she was quite a catch to them."

"Really?" Theo looked doubtful. "Bushy hair, buck tooth- "

"Watch it," Draco growled.

"What? You call her that to her face all the time!"

"I'm the only one allowed to do that."

"You really have it bad, Malfoy."

"Shut the bloody hell up, Nott." His pale cheeks held a pink tint. "Oh, thank Merlin it's time to board," he said when the familiar loud warning noise went through the whole platform. And when he glanced at Hermione, she was looking at him. He winked at her as she smiled before turning back to her friends. She linked arms with Weasley as Potter wrapped an arm around his wife' waist before turning towards the train.

"If it's any consolation, Malfoy," Nott said quietly from beside him. "I've never seen you so happy. You may look like you're throwing everyone here dirty looks but your eyes are shining. I'm not fooled."

Draco didn't say anything, scowled at Theo and started walking towards the train, coming in between Pansy and Daphne and wrapping either arms on their shoulders, leaving his old friend to stare at him in mild amusement before he followed them.

The compartments were smaller than they remembered so Pansy, Daphne, Draco and Theo cramped up in one apartment while Goyle and his wife separated from them to find a compartment of their own, most probably with Blaise.

The four of them talked about particularly nothing interesting, just chit chatting on random things. Draco and Theo talked mostly of career, Quidditch and a bit of their significant others while Pansy and Daphne chatted about something the two men couldn't understand, but they were always giggling over something. Once in a while, the two would screech in laughter and the two men would pause in their conversation to stare at them weirdly.

Before they knew it, they had arrived in Hogwarts, crossed the lake on the boats and were gathered in the Great Hall.

Everything looked the same way they had left it. A completely white-haired, wrinkly Minerva McGonagall greeted them with glassy eyes and an uncharacteristic big grin on her face, saying that she was pleased as she can be that they had decided to participate in this rare event in Hogwarts.

Then there was an applause after her speech. Hagrid, Neville Longbottom, Aurora Sinistra, Rolanda Hooch and Sybill Trelawney were the only recognized Hogwarts staff. The others were introduced but the old students didn't really gave them any more thought as McGonagall came down the stage and everyone started to socialize.

Draco didn't, of course, only talking to his friends and occasionally nodded to anyone who nodded to him. He was engaged in conversation by a few Slytherins he recognized, but didn't know their names because of how different everyone else looked. Most of the attendees were from Gryffindors and their lot was the noisiest as well. Draco recognized every one of them. He kept out an eye on Hermione and always saw that she was laughing at something that someone had said. As long as she was having fun, he really didn't mind coming anymore.

Later in the evening, the middle of the room was cleared out and then there was dancing.

Smirking, he broke away from the Slytherin group and proceeded to walk towards his girlfriend. She was talking to a pregnant Patil twin and had her back to him. As soon as he was standing directly behind her, the Patil twin stared up at him with very wide eyes.

"H-Hermione," the Patil twin interrupted whatever Hermione was saying. "Malfoy's right behind you."

Hermione stopped speaking and turned around, smiling slightly. "Yes, Malfoy?"

"Dance with me, Granger."

The Patil twin gasped in outrage and opened her mouth to snarl at him, he guessed, but Hermione giggled a little and said, "I thought you'd never ask."

He offered her his hand and clasped her hand as soon as she laid it. He drew Hermione away from the gaping Patil twin and onto the dance floor. There were only a few people dancing and sure enough, everyone was staring at the two of them as soon as Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and she dragged her hands upward to wrap around her shoulders.

Whispers and murmurs broke out through the entire hall, but was drowned by the music.

As far as Draco and Hermione were concerned, they didn't exist.

"Wow," Draco muttered dryly as she moved from side to side, her hips barely swinging. "You're a terrible dancer."

To his surprise, she threw her head back and laughed. "I know! When I was about five years old, my mother made me take ballet lessons. But my body was so uncoordinated, I didn't last a year."

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Your body isn't _that _uncoordinated. Trust me."

She pulled away from him, her heart beat raising a tad as she looked at him through her lashes, long and thick from her makeup. "Why, Mister Malfoy, what ever do you mean?"

He didn't say anything, but pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other. She blushed as she felt his arousal against her.

"Mister Malfoy," she gasped in mock outrage.

He leaned down and nuzzled her ear as he laughed under his breath. "Everyone's staring. What do you suppose is running through their minds?"

"Well, they're probably getting ready to stun us so they could take us to St. Mungo's. What's _your_ theory?"

"That I'm seducing their favorite Gryffindor girl and that maybe I have something against you so you can't turn me down."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Whatever. I don't care what they think. Do you?"

"You know I don't. They can all burn in hell for all I care." He shrugged as if he was merely saying something about the weather. And to prove himself and just because he had the urge to, he leaned down and kissed her. And not just any simple kiss. It was one of their deep,_ I-want-to-make-love-to-you_ kisses where Hermione's legs turned to jelly and his stomach ached with powerful lust.

While they were kissing, everything and everyone seemed frozen in shock. Except for their friends who knew about them of course. Hermione's friends looked on in mild irritation at their show and Draco's friends were smiling evilly or smirking.

They pulled away flushed and suddenly aware of the silence that fell upon the Great Hall. Why they let each other get carried away, they weren't exactly sure. Especially Hermione who was never one for public display of affections.

Draco smiled roguishly at her while she blushed deeply. They stepped away from each other. Draco bent at the waist and mockingly bowed at her before winking and they parted; Draco went back to a giggling Daphne and Pansy and Hermione went back to a wide-eyed Patil twin.

Ginny joined Hermione and Parvati, who was still gaping at Hermione. "Bloody hell, Hermione," Ginny said laughingly, her cursing habit picked up from her brothers. "I was sure you were going to rip out his clothes right there in the middle of the Great Hall."

"Ginny," Hermione whined. "I don't know what came over me. We were just laughing one minute and then he was kissing me."

The redhead laughed again. "Harry and Ron didn't appreciate the show though."

"I'm sure," she replied dryly. She looked back at her boyfriend and saw he was wearing a smug smile that was reminiscent of the boy she used to despise wholeheartedly as he talked to one of his friends. She rolled her eyes at him although he was unable to see. "Smug bastard."

Parvati finally got over her shock and found her voice again. "Merlin's beard above!" She shrilled. "What was _that_? You agreed to dance with Malfoy, let him feel you up and then snog you!"

Hermione winced at her high-pitch voice. It didn't do too well on her high strung nerves. "Err, yes- "

"Are you out of your mind?" Parvati continued to screech.

"No- "

"Yes, you are! It's Draco Malfoy. He's a good for nothing Death Eater! A scum who- "

"No!" Hermione yelled that echoed throughout the Great Hall. The entire room turned to look at the screaming women. "You don't know anything, Parvati Patil. How dare you say such things about him? He did nothing to you. _Nothing_. He may have done the wrong things in the past but that doesn't define who he is. And don't assume that you know him. You don't, so I suggest you shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"


	26. Chapter 26

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 26**

"What is going on here?" Harry and Ron seemed to come out of nowhere as they stood on either side of Hermione and Ginny, who was holding the brunette back.

"Parvati here said some things about Malfoy," Ginny answered her husband. "None of them were nice."

Ron groaned. "You're lucky she hasn't hexed you yet," he told Parvati as he grasped Hermione's shoulders to draw her away from their former classmate. "Come on, Hermione. Why don't we take a walk?"

"I'm not yet done with _her_," Hermione snarled but Ron was stronger than her so he was successful in pulling her away.

"You can hex her when she's not pregnant," Ron amended. "But you shouldn't have let her get to you. You know better than that, Hermione. Blimey, you know, you reminded me of how you were back in Hogwarts when you get that crazed look in your eye when I piss you off or something."

Her shoulders slumped and leaned against Ron's frame. "She called Draco a Death Eater. She told me he was scum. She told me he was good for nothing. It's not true, you know. He's not exactly Mr. Nice Guy, but he's good- at least, to me."

"I know," Ron replied lowly. "Oh, look, here comes your not so Mr. Nice Guy." He pulled away from Hermione. "Catch you later."

As soon as Ron left her side, Draco was there, grasping her shoulders, facing her. "What happened back there? Are you alright?" He watched her solemn expression through narrowed eyes. "She said something about me, didn't she? What did she say?"

"It's not important." Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face on his chest. "She's lucky she's pregnant. But I wouldn't have hexed her. I would have punched her in the nose."

He wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his chin on top of her head. "Always the brute. Scarhead and Scarhead's wife are talking to her now. Judging by the look on her face, they must have told her about our relationship."

"Don't call Harry Scarhead and Ginny, Scarhead's wife. And Parvati can all burn in hell for all I care," she echoed his earlier statement while they were dancing, her voice muffled against his robes. She breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent and allowing it to consume her senses.

"Are you sniffing me, Granger?"

"I might be."

"Stop it, you pervert. And people are looking."

She chuckled deep in her chest. "I don't care."

"You don't care they're looking?"

"No. I thought I did. Now I don't."

He let out his breath slowly. "So if I push you up against the wall and snog you senseless, you wouldn't care?"

She looked up at him and frowned. "That's overstepping my boundaries. A kiss on the cheek or two and a hug, that's my limit."

"Ah," he sighed. "Do you want to dance, my oh-so-terrible favorite dancer?"

"No. If I dance with you, everyone will be staring again and it makes me feel like I'm a deer surrounded by hyenas."

"You and me both. So instead let us take a turn about the room." He pulled away from her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they stood side by side. "We'll ignore the hyenas and only talk to our friends."

"Best idea I've heard all evening."

Of course as they strolled around the hall, everyone threw them suspicious looks as they whispered to each other; most of them were from Gryffindor and Slytherin - some were negative, some were positive, and some were neutral. The old students from Ravenclaw were glaring at Hermione, because it wasn't a secret that they didn't like her and now that she was together with one of the despised people everywhere, they found another reason not to like her. The ones from Hufflepuff were indeed staring and whispering but none of them were saying anything negative about them.

Still they went unnoticed as Draco and Hermione spoke to each other, laughing occasionally.

After a few hours, it died down eventually. They knew that everyone had questions - but they wouldn't answer. Their friends, however, were beaten and badgered until they grew annoyed about the hot topic of the night.

"Hermione," Harry grumbled, a scowl on his face. "These people are annoying me. They keep asking about you and Malfoy." He groaned.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, a pout on her lips.

"And they also keep asking me if I was alright, since last they had heard that we were an item."

"We were hardly an item, Ronald," Hermione replied lightly. "We didn't even last a year."

"Well, what about us, Granger? We've only been together for five months. Are we not an item?" Draco asked her, his eyes narrowed at her.

Hermione sighed deeply. "We've been friends for two months and only together for three months, Malfoy," Hermione reminded him. "We're not 'an item'. That is so shallow. We are in a relationship."

"Yeah, we are," he grinned goofily.

"But it's not as bad as I expected," Hermione said to the group. "I was expecting a lot of insults thrown out, hexes threatened, and whatnot. Seamus and Dean asked me about me being with Malfoy over here but didn't comment on it."

"Well, they know better than angering you," Harry laughed. "I can't remember how many times you hexed them over the years when they made fun of you."

"And me," Ron grumbled from beside him.

"My favorite was the one when Hermione shrunk Ron's head." Ginny grinned brightly.

Hermione laughed. "Oh, yes, I remember that."

"What the hell did you do?" Draco asked Ron, his eyes wide.

"I think it was when I told her that she should fix her hair because it was starting to become painful to look at." Ron winced.

Draco looked at Hermione with a proud smirk.

"What? I was having my premenstrual syndrome. You know how moody I can be on my good days, what more when I'm on my period?" Hermione told Draco while casting a side along glance at her best friend. "And women don't appreciate remarks that would lower their self esteem."

Ginny agreed with her with a frantic nod and looked pointedly at her husband. "I still give the best Bat-Bogey hex."

"Yes," Hermione supported her. "She does it better than I do."

"Bloody hell, I thought women were supposed to be gossiping and talking about clothes, not hexes." Ron was addressing Harry and Draco. "I don't think we'll ever reach our fiftieth birthday at this rate."

"Oh, I don't know about you, Weasley," Draco said, "I think we're in for quite a treat. They'll keep us on our bloody toes." He winked at Hermione.

Hermione smiled back at him, not because of his compliment but because he was talking to her friends with more than civility - in fact, he was almost being friendly. "I can't wait to go home," she told him.

The others echoed her sentiment.

* * *

"I thought you were going to stay away," Draco said in an almost dull tone as soon as he reached Pansy's side. He left Hermione back in her group of friends when he saw Pansy enter the Great Hall. "I saw you two leave the Great Hall about half an hour ago."

Pansy frowned at him. "It's not what you think. Blaise and I are over. I haven't been with him in more than two weeks now." Her expression turned somber as she grabbed Draco's arm. "I need to tell you something and I don't think you're going to like it."

"What is it, Pansy?"

She looked around to see if there were anyone that could overhear them. And when she saw that they were well out of earshot from anyone, she stepped closer to Draco. "He knows about Stefan, Draco."

His eyes narrowed. "How?"

"I don't know. But he told me to tell you that you should watch him carefully."

"Why?"

"I don't know! He doesn't want to explain anything to me but he said that you won't take your chances."

"And why should I trust _him?"_

"He's your friend, Draco!"

"I don't know that for sure. After all, he refused to acknowledge me after I made it known that I'm in a relationship with Hermione. And don't think I haven't noticed the look he keeps throwing me tonight."

"Whatever, Draco." Pansy sniffed as she turned away. "Just don't make sure Stefan's going to be alright. I'm rather fond of the little tyke, you know. Even if he's a muggle."

His heartbeat started to pound loudly in his ears as he thought about Stefan. What the hell could Zabini mean? His hands started to shake as he looked around frantically for his girlfriend and then stopped himself.

Stefan was over at her parents' home. _He's fine_, he told himself. _He's going to be fine_.

* * *

It was midnight and the party had reached its conclusion. Despite the shocking revelation the intimate relationship between Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, and their scandalous behavior on the dance floor, everyone had a good time. Their festive mood had died down as they boarded the train. At their ages, almost everyone was ready to settle down and have children.

Zabini's warning through Pansy still leaned heavy in his mind. For the rest of the evening, Draco kept an eye out for Blaise, just in case he was doing something suspicious. So far, he merely socialized.

From across the room, Hermione kept throwing him worried glances but he ignored it and conversed with his friends, forcing himself to laugh when necessary.

Aboard the train, Hermione was cramped up in a compartment with her friends. When he peeked his head inside, she was leaning against Weasley's shoulder, fast asleep. Thumping down his jealousy, he closed their compartment door and searched for the one where his friends sat. Theo, Daphne and Pansy continued to converse quietly, while he stared at the window, the scenery passing by in a swirl of colors but his mind was elsewhere. The others noticed of course, but they were smart enough not to pry.

The travel back to London felt like eternity but when they did, he fetched Hermione from their compartment and whisked her away. He was anxious, scared and at the same time annoyed himself for letting Zabini get to him.

"Draco Malfoy, tell me what's wrong this instant!"

"Nothing," he replied distantly. "Let's go get Stefan. I can't wait to see him."

"But I thought we're going to get him tomorrow afternoon? I thought we're going to have this night to ourselves?" She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice, but was completely unable to.

"Maybe next time, Hermione. Not now." Even to his own ears, he sounded desperate.

"In a minute," she said, frowning deeply. "I'm going to say goodbye to everyone."

He growled in frustration. "Go then! Make it quick. I'll be waiting on the other side of the platform." He quickly walked away from her, fuming. He shouldn't be angry at her, because hadn't told her a single thing. He wanted to keep his anxiety to himself because he didn't really want to worry her. Hermione was a born worrier, and no doubt, she would freak out at the prospect of her charge to be in possible danger.

He leaned against a nearby brick wall, closing his eyes.

For a couple of weeks now, he treated Stefan as if he was his own and in his mind, he regarded Hermione and the baby as his real family.

And if she knew that, he might just scare her off. Of course, like she had mentioned earlier, they had only been together for three months. But then again, they weren't an ordinary couple. She's Hermione Granger and he's Draco Malfoy - enemies turned friends turned lovers turned parents - there was nothing more peculiar than their relationship.

"Malfoy, let's go," her sudden voice made him open his eyes. Her tone was brisk, indicating that she was pissed.

Nodding as he straightened up. "Took you long enough."

Her lips pursed but she didn't say anything as she docked into an alley to apparate to her parent's place and Draco followed suit.

Her parents were surprised that the young couple had changed their minds but they relented and gave up Stefan who was surprisingly awake at almost one in the morning. Apparently, he couldn't sleep well in different surroundings. In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had a hard time putting him to sleep and when they finally did, it hadn't lasted for more than three hours.

Draco clutched Stefan to him in a possessive manner and he was sure that Hermione had noticed, but chose not to say anything. His earlier anxiety was completely gone now. Stefan was fine, kind of smiling at him despite his lack of sleep.

"I'm here, little bug," he muttered as he stroked his short black hair. "I'll protect you."

Hermione's expression softened when she heard this but she turned around so he couldn't see. That was when she realized that someone must have said or done something make Draco act that way.

"Come on, we can use the floo network," Hermione told him softly.

At dawn, Hermione and Draco lay side by side in bed, both unable to sleep. Draco had been silent ever since they came home and Hermione decided not to pry, at least not yet.

With a soft sigh, she turned on her side to face Draco. He was staring up at the ceiling, but she knew his mind was elsewhere. "Whatever it is, Draco, I hope it'll get better soon. I don't like it when you shut me out like this."

"I'm not shutting you out," Draco told her quietly, still looking ahead. "I'm just thinking things through."

She reached out to touch his chest, offering her comfort. "I'll be waiting."

"Stefan's going to be fine."

"Yes, he's healthy- "

"I won't let anything happen to him. Hermione, I- I want him."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to adopt him," he said firmly.

The air seemed to depart from her entire body. Her eyes wide, her mouth open, her body motionless, a million thoughts running through her head as his words repeated over and over in her head. When she got over her shock, she sat up gingerly, facing him fully. "Draco, I- "

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by a violent crash and Stefan's loud cry.


	27. Chapter 27

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 27**

As fast as the Firebolt, Draco shot out of the room. Hermione took a moment longer, looking for her wand, but was unable to find it before she ran after him. Her heart was thudding loudly in her ears and she was trembling all over. Stefan... faintly, she heard his cries and that thought was enough to make her function.

Draco was in the room now, wand raised. But he stood frozen on the ground, his eyes narrowed, his lips turned downward in a grimace. A man was holding Stefan non-too-delicately against his shoulder. "No," Hermione whimpered as she walked inside the room.

The man who was holding the baby - _her baby _- could possibly the most handsome man she had ever come across in her lifetime had it not been for the frightening look on his face.

Hermione was an excellent duelist as she was creative in mixing non-combat spells with combative spells that was always unpredictable for her opponents. At the age of seventeen, she learned to practice non-verbal magic as well as wandless magic. But right now, while Stefan was in danger, she couldn't move.

Draco's wand lowered as his eyes suddenly widened. "Grigor Valko," he said in recognition. "What- "

"You vould not think I vould let a half-blood son of mine to _live_?" the Bulgarian spat out in disgust.

The blond paled visibly, his wand raised again. "You're a wizard."

"I suppose," Grigor continued speaking as if Draco hadn't spoken. His free hand disappeared into his pocket and reappeared now, holding a wand. "Our mutual friend Zabini probably varned you because I came to your parents' home," he addressed Hermione, "to find my _beloved_ son vas not there."

"M-my parents- ?"

"Do not vorry, they are not dead," he said but the implication was there in his voice.

Hermione's body shook violently. Draco snarled as he took a step back, a little closer to her figure. "What did you do?"

"I am not to tell you everything. Now can ve forget everything? I have to get _my son_ home so my parents vill meet him before they kill him. I do not have the privilege because I am so stupid to knock up a mudblood."

"You don't have to kill him," Hermione answered, her voice loud and clear, but void of any emotion now. Her body stopped shaking, but her hands still were. "I will take him, nobody has to know."

"Ah, you are a mudblood, you do not know the customs of a pureblood especially a pureblood family in Bulgaria," he said smoothly. His gaze redirected to Draco. "Unlike English pureblood families, ve do not merely disown blood traitors in our family. They are to be executed by the head of the family. Unlike you," he repeated, "ve take our customs seriously."

"Taking your customs seriously? Valko, you who as mingled with muggle women more than I have? You must be joking!" Draco said incredulously.

She couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes flashing and her fists clenched down at her sides, she mustered up the strength from deep within her to disarm him wandlessly, non-verbally. The wand flew away to the other side of the room and Grigor was confused for a moment before he looked at Hermione, a small malicious smile on his handsome face.

She caught his gaze before she fell on the floor helplessly, an invisible hand shoving her face down violently and her face slammed down on the floor, her nose making a cracking sound before it started to bleed profusely. She whimpered, but she didn't cry, having felt so much worse than this when she was a teenager.

Seeing the look on Grigor's face, Draco turned around and saw his girlfriend on the floor. He didn't have time to react as he pointed his wand at her. "_Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum._" A visible shield started to draw around her motionless form and she was able to move as soon as the charm was complete. Immediately after this, he pointed his wand at Grigor who was all too smug. "_Carpe Retractum_." Grigor's eyes widened as he felt himself being pulled by an invisible force towards Draco. As soon as he was right there in front of Draco, his wand dug into Grigor's neck painfully before he said, "_Petrificus Totalus_." And before Grigor fell helplessly on the floor, Draco pointed his wand to Stefan and said quickly, "_Mobilicorpus._"

Grigor thudded on the floor on his back and Stefan slipped through his petrified arms, floating above the adult. Draco ran to the floating small figure and made a grab for him before he turned back to his girlfriend. He lifted the shield from her and he fell on his beside her. Hermione moaned as she clutched her still bleeding nose.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Draco asked dumbly.

She glared at him and pointed to her nose.

"Oh, yes, of course, right! Hold on, brace yourself, this might hurt a bit." He drew out a long breath. She rolled her eyes; she was a healer, of course she knew how these healing spells worked. He touched his wand at the tip of her nose. "_Episkey._"

Hermione took a deep breath as the pain shot through her. But just as it began, it was over. She sat up, bloody face and all, and gingerly placed her hand on Stefan's forehead. "Are you alright, my little Stefan? Did he hurt you? Do I have to kill the bad man?" she murmured. Stefan merely stared at her with his wide black eyes. He might have not recognize her with her face splattered with her own blood. She grinned and glanced at Draco whose worried gaze wandered back and forth between his girlfriend and Stefan. "Draco, clean me up."

He seemed to snap out of it and he waved his wand over her face again. _"Tergeo,_" he said and the blood completely disappeared.

"Thank you," she said softly and she held out her arms. "Please."

Draco handed Stefan over to her but not before laying a kiss on his forehead. "I'll be back." He quickly walked over to Grigor's frozen form. Unable to help himself, he kicked him on the ribs hard - three times. "It's not smart of you to mess with Hogwarts' top students. _Especially_ those who have gone through a war." He sneered cruelly down in his face before turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

Quickly, he walked over to the fireplace. "Potter! Potter! Potter!" He bellowed, not caring if he disturbed anyone else.

A few moments later, a topless Harry Potter, glasses askew and hair as messy as the Forbidden Forest, came stumbling into the room. His eyes narrowed furiously at the intruder. "Malfoy! What the bloody hell do you want?"

"Package," Draco replied simply, evasively. "I've got a package for you. It's waiting in my son's room. Come quickly." With that, he stepped away from the fireplace.

On cue, Harry was hot on his heels, an arm thrown across his chest self-consciously. He looked around and saw Draco's back. He started walking towards him. "Oi, Malfoy! What is the meaning of this? Do you have any idea what time it is? I have no time for your pranks- you woke up my children with all the noise you've been making and me wife's pissed at- " He was cut off as soon as he was standing on the threshold of Stefan's room to where Draco had disappeared into.

A man was clearly petrified at the other end of the room while Hermione was sitting on the floor and against the wall, murmuring and cooing to Stefan. His eyes then fell into a small pool of blood in the middle of the room. His eyebrows shot in surprise.

"Well?" Harry asked Draco who was leaning against a wall beside Hermione and Stefan. "What happened here?"

"This man over here attempted to kidnap but not before telling us that he plans to murder him. Hermione disarmed him and in turn, he used dark magic on her making her fall on her face on which she broke her nose. I petrified the man, his name is Grigor Valko, Bulgarian citizen," Draco said in a bored tone. "Arrest him now, Potter, so we can all go back to sleep."

During Draco's speech, Harry's mouth fell open in shock. He turned to his friend. "Hermione?"

"It's true, Harry. You can look at my nose, it's horribly crooked since Draco's a terrible healer." She pouted as she ran a finger down her nose.

Harry fought the urge to laugh, so he bit his tongue. "Hermione," he said in an exasperated tone. "Are you pressing charges? There's too many loopholes, I can't take him in until I find an evidence."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Potter," Draco said furiously as he straightened from the wall. "There's your bloody evidence. Interrogate him. Do whatever it is you do, lock him behind bars, take him back to Bulgaria, I don't care. Do everything to keep him away from _my_ son."

Hermione's shocked gaze shifted from Harry to Draco. She wanted to shout _'Stefan is_ my_ son' _but she realized that he was much as her son as Draco's son with the way they've been playing house for over a month. Her thoughts ran back to their conversation in bed before the incident. He wanted to adopt Stefan, but she was about to tell him no, because _she_ wanted to adopt. And as Stefan's legal guardian, she was sure to win custody easily.

Harry gazed steadily at Draco and he stared right back with an uncharacteristic fierceness. After a few moments, Harry nodded. "Very well." Whipping out his wand, he sent out a patronus to his team. As the misty figure of a stag ran out, Harry moved forward and crouched in front of Hermione. Using his hands, he moved her hair away from her face tenderly. "Besides the nose, were you hurt in any other way?"

She gave a small nod. "I'm not sure what curse it was, but like Draco said, it was dark magic. I felt something pushing me against the floor and I felt a burning sensation all over before I fell and broke my nose. It was nothing like the Cruciatus curse, but the effects were as devastating. I thought I was going to die. Thankfully, Draco managed to cast a strong shield charm just in time."

Draco heard this and his body fell against the wall again, as if he was suddenly drained of all strength. Neither Harry or Hermione noticed. He didn't know - he thought she was merely pushed down by an invisible force. Because his back was toward her, he didn't realize, especially that she hadn't uttered a sound. The only indication was the small smile on Grigor Valko's face that he was doing something to her. Furious this time at himself for failing to protect her.

Suddenly, Hermione jumped. "Oh, Harry! I have to go - I have to see my parents! H-he did something- Draco, please," she whispered, her eyes tearing up for the first time.

Mustering up the last bit of his energy, he pushed away from the wall and crouched beside Hermione. He took Stefan gently into his arms and he fought the intense emotion he that burst inside of him, refusing to cry in front of Potter. "Go," he said to his girlfriend but his gaze was intent on Stefan's face.

With a watery smile, Hermione pushed away from the floor and out of the room in seconds.

"Malfoy- " Harry started.

"As you know, Stefan was staying with Hermione's house but we took him home at the last minute. I don't know how but Grigor Valko knew of this and so he went there to get the child only to find that he wasn't there. He told us not to worry because they're not dead... the way he said it implies that they are not _yet_ dead."

Harry nodded.

Suddenly, half a dozen aurors barged into the room. Harry stood up from his crouch on the floor and nodded to his team and gestured to the petrified form of Grigor Valko at the other side of the room. "Take him in for interrogation - attempted kidnapping with the intention of murdering an infant and casting a dark curse on Hermione Granger. Suspect: Grigor Valko, early 30s, Bulgarian citizen. To be detained until further notice."

As soon as they came, they disappeared along with Grigor Valko. He was released from the full body-bind curse and now wore shackles that disables him to cast any magic with or without a wand. He struggled violently, but the aurors were strongly built and didn't even flinch at his struggles.

As soon as Harry, Draco and Stefan were alone, Draco stood up from his place with Stefan on the floor. "Potter, why don't you make yourself some tea? Or whatever your fancy is while you wait for Hermione. I'm going to get this little bug to sleep," he said faintly as he turned away from him. "Come on, Stefan. Enough excitement for tonight." He waved his wand and levitated the crib behind him as he walked out of the door.

Inside his bedroom, he set the crib at the foot of the bed. "_Stefan Andreas_," he said in a broken whisper, as he sat on the bed, clutching him to his chest. "I almost lost you. Will you ever forgive Daddy? You've been quiet for a long time. We must scared you a lot, huh? Don't worry, little bug, from now on, there will be none of that. I'll protect you, and your Mummy too. Although I think she'll protect you better than I ever will. Did you know, I was so scared? It feels a lot like when I was seventeen again and I was scared that I almost didn't do something. Then he did something to your Mummy and I swear, I was so angry that I almost killed him had it not been for you, because he was holding you. I couldn't risk hurting you- "

"You were brilliant," Hermione's voice broke in as she walked inside the bedroom. She appeared to be calm now. She sat down beside him.

"Your parents- ?" he inquired anxiously.

"Are fine," she assured him. "He was bluffing. They're sleeping soundly in the bed. Stefan appears to be settling down. Let's go to the kitchen. Harry made some tea right after he set up strong wards."

Several minutes later, the three adults were in the kitchen and Stefan was dozing off as the lullaby played for him in the bedroom. At the breakfast bar, Harry sat opposite Hermione and Draco. Harry looked at the two of them expectantly.

"That was Stefan's biological father," Hermione told her old friend without preamble.

"I knew him as a friend when I was still living in Bulgaria," Draco continued to explain. "If you remember what we told you about Stefan's mother, the heartless bitch, my ex-girlfriend, well, he was her man on the side. Apparently - he's not a muggle as I had originally thought. He told us that he wouldn't let a half-blood son of his live but not before his parents met him because the head of the family, I'm assuming his father, is in charge of the execution of the baby."

They continued to tell the whole episode to Harry until the sun had started to rise. Draco shook hands with him as he left and Hermione hugged him fiercely. Harry set up an appointment to settle an official statement in the Ministry. The couple agreed and they watched as Harry disappeared into the fireplace.

As soon as they were alone, Hermione threw herself in Draco's arms. "Draco, Draco, Draco," she mumbled as she started landing kisses all over his face. "You were brilliant. I'm sorry I couldn't do something. I couldn't find my wand anywhere but I did manage to disarm him."

"Shh." Draco leaned away from her assault, smiling slightly and then he frowned. "I'm sorry he cursed you. I'm sorry I hadn't realized sooner."

"It's okay," she whispered wrapping her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes. She moved her arms again and took his face in her hands. "If it hadn't been for the situation, I would be so turned on with the way you've been throwing out those charms and curses."

He chuckled lightly as he moved a hand to touch her nose gingerly. "I'm sorry about your nose."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I'll get someone to fix it in the hospital. I don't care, really, as long as Stefan is safe. And you, of course." She was smiling and then it wavered.

"What?" Draco asked, frowning as well.

"You kicked him. Three times. I saw... or rather, I heard."

"Oh. That. He deserved it," he mumbled. "And I couldn't help it. He looked so bloody pathetic lying there."

"I suppose he did," she murmured and then she smiled up at him again. "Did I ever thank you? You were really great, you know. I never really expected it from you."

"It's not everyday I get to that, so I figured I might as well have my fun. And no, you haven't properly thanked me yet," he said in a low whisper as he leaned down to kiss her.


	28. Chapter 28

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 28**

The mess that made the violent crash was merely the result of Grigor Valko's clumsiness. He knocked out two stand lamps that startled Stefan awake. Fenris, Draco's house elf had cleaned it up.

Hermione and Draco managed to sleep for a couple of hours before Stefan woke up, crying and very hungry. Having used to sleeping little, the couple proceeded to feed Stefan his milk before getting ready for a trip to the Ministry of Magic after they both had a small breakfast. They dressed up Stefan in his fancy, quaint clothes. Draco set up a stroller and strapped Stefan in before they flooed over to the Ministry, because they couldn't risk leaving Stefan with someone else.

The Atrium was swarming with people - employees, customers, complainers, etc. Some people recognized Hermione and greeted her. Although Draco and Stefan was standing beside her, they weren't acknowledged, unless shooting him and Stefan wide-eyed curious glances were considered as acknowledgement. Draco merely looked the other way every time someone did so.

Crossing to the lifts, they entered, along with a number of people, and silently stepped off at Level 2: The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It seemed that Hermione Granger was recognized here, Draco pointed at out in a whisper as they walked to the Auror office.

"After the war, I frequented at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for my organization: Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare or S.P.E.W. and I worked for a short period of time before I proceeded to practice magical medicine," Hermione explained as she returned a wave of a bloke who passed by and called out 'long time no see, Ms. Granger!'

Draco scowled fiercely at the bloke whose gaze lingered on Hermione. The man paled and turned away from them, disappearing inside his cubicle. Satisfied at the reaction he received, he turned back his attention toward his girlfriend. One hand on the stroller, the other reached for her hand and held it tightly in his. _That would stop those blokes from ogling my woman. Damn horny bastards. _

Beside him, Hermione burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" he asked, shooting her a confused look.

"What you just said, that's what's funny!"

"What did I say?"

"You said something about some damn horny bastards ogling your woman? Really, Draco," she laughed. "Were you not aware of what you just said- oh, you were thinking out loud, weren't you?"

He scowled and ignored her. When she laughed again, he let go of her hand.

Unperturbed, Hermione laughed one last time and she walked ahead of him as they neared Harry Potter's office. Knocking for a brief moment, she stepped inside the familiar surroundings. She left it open behind her to let Draco and Stefan in.

"Hi, Harry," she greeted.

"You're looking better than I last saw you," he responded smilingly as he gestured for her to sit at the visitor's chair. "Hullo there, Malfoy. Have a seat," he offered with a sweep of his hand.

Silently, he pushed forward Stefan's stroller to rest beside Hermione and took the seat opposite Hermione, adjacent to Harry.

"So," Harry said, his tone less familiar as he assumed the role of Head of the Auror Office. "Grigor Valko is currently in seclusion as we speak. We have yet to start interrogation until charges are pressed and I assume you two will press charges?" At their chorused nods, he continued speaking. "Shall we proceed?" He pushed a number of parchments for them to sign. Hermione and Draco went over the documents silently and signed them when it met their approval. Once business has been settled, Harry inquired over Stefan's case. "Before we can take action against Valko, we have to secure Stefan's custody. He still has an advantage seeing he is the biological father. The documents that his biological mother had settled no longer takes effect seeing as our little Stefan is a half-blood."

Hermione and Draco exchanged uneasy glances.

"Hermione, you're the legal guardian, the custody is rightfully yours, if you take it. In fact, we can settle this down at Wizengamot by the end of the day," Harry said, watching the couple carefully.

"H-Harry- "

"We'd like for a joint custody, Potter," Draco cut in firmly, but he was looking at Hermione. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a peculiar expression settled on her face. He hesitated. "That is, if it works for Stefan's guardian."

Hermione responded with a small smile.

Harry's brows shot up in surprise. "Joint custody - are you sure?" he hesitated. "Parenthood is not something to be taken into lightly- "

"We know that, Potter. We've been taking care of him for a month, haven't we?" Draco said, annoyed.

"But what if you two- ?"

"Harry Potter," Hermione screeched suddenly, paling at the prospect of what her best friend implied while Draco glared at him hatefully. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

He winced. "Look, I'm sorry at the implication, Hermione, but we have to look at this logically. You two have been together for a few months. Have you even talked about this?"

She lifted up her chin a notch in an act of defiance. "It's none of your business, Harry Potter. This is between me and Draco."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Do you want me to accompany the three of you to Wizengamot?"

"Yes please," she responded in a soft voice this time. "You can act as our witness."

Draco started to protest but Hermione threw him a fierce look that made him shut up. _Might as well_, he grumbled silently to himself_. I'll make an exception for Stefan but after this, no more favors from Saint Potter. _A few moments later, he noticed that Hermione and Harry were staring at him incredulously. He raised an eyebrow at them. "What?"

Hermione shook her head in amusement. "You were thinking out loud again." She turned back to face Harry. "I'm sorry for bursting out like that, Harry. You have to see how important Stefan is to me - _to us_."

Harry was silent for a moment as he gazed steadily into Hermione's eyes. He nodded in understanding. As a parent himself, he recognized that look. Gazing at Malfoy briefly, he wore the exact same look as Hermione, despite the visible sneer on his face. Merely looking at Malfoy's face did not portray his emotions - they were all in his eyes, hiding behind a façade.

* * *

It was official. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were the adoptive parents of Stefan Andreas.

"We're going to use Malfoy, of course," Draco replied before Hermione could when Harry asked whose family name they were to use.

"What? No!" Hermione practically yelled. "Granger!"

"Why?"

"Because..."

"Because what?"

Harry rolled his eyes as they continued to bicker back and forth in front of him as they found themselves back in his office. The hearing was informative but rather _short. _It hadn't taken even an hour! It was like the case was but a nuisance to Wizengamot.

None of the members had uttered a single word as he spoke. No protests. No questions even. They just agreed at whatever he was saying and then made their decision. They did, however, raise their eyebrows when a certain Draco Malfoy was mentioned. But before they could ask questions, Harry defended him and assured the members that he was more than capable of taking care of the child, and that he, Harry Potter, was a witness to how Draco Malfoy was an excellent caretaker of the child, much to the couple's utter surprise.

And to _his_ surprise, Draco Malfoy shook his hand and thanked him sincerely. _Ron wouldn't believe it! Ha! I can't wait to tell him_. _It will blow his socks right off. _Laughing silently to himself, he let his thoughts drift back to when they were teenagers, Malfoy always egging him on for no apparent reason. In truth, he Malfoy didn't really bother him, not until sixth year when he was sure he was up to something. He was right and a particular incident in the girl's bathroom, proved that Malfoy wasn't exactly the boy he appeared to be. The thing that he and Malfoy had in common was they were put in an impossible situation where they had no control over. Granted that he had it worse than Malfoy ever did.

He then remembered the letter that Malfoy had sent him. He didn't respond, figuring that it would be a closure and they would never cross paths again. He was wrong, of course, having suddenly Malfoy fall on his best friend's lap where they develop a friendship that eventually turned into a relationship _and __now_ they have an adopted child together.

_Surely_ this was irony at its best.

Harry was shook out of his thoughts when the other occupants of his office fell into taut silence. Curiously, he glanced at the two of them. Malfoy looked nervous and Hermione was frozen in shock. In the backround, he heard Stefan gurgling softly safe in his expensive-looking stroller.

"W-wha- " Hermione stuttered and then her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. "Was that a proposal?" she asked when her eyes opened again.

_A proposal? _Harry thought in shock, as he felt his mouth falling open. _A_ marriage_ proposal_? He tried to say something, but it seemed that he had lost the ability to speak.

"If you want it to be," Draco replied softly as he reached over to grasp his hand. "I'll state my case again: Stefan is going to use my last name so in the future, we wouldn't have to change it again when you and I..." he cleared his throat. "I mean, in the future, I don't see myself with anyone else but you."

"I- I- "

Choking with disappointment and hint of anger, Draco slowly let go of her hand. But Hermione caught it, pulling it back, this time grasping it with both her hands. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears but they didn't fall. Slowly, a smile spread across her face.

"I'll hold you to that."

Draco felt tears welling but he blinked them quickly back, a bit embarrassed. "You may depend on it," he said thickly as he leaned forward to kiss her.

Unnoticed by the other occupants of the room, Harry pinched himself in the arm. "Ow!" he said when it did hurt because he was _sure_ that he had been daydreaming. Did his best friend, Hermione Granger, just agreed to marry Draco Malfoy? Harry twisted a chunk of flesh on the inside of his arm. "Ow!" he said again. He blinked rapidly, willing the image of Hermione and Malfoy snogging in front of him to go away.

It didn't.

"Oh shit," he said in realization and he fell back on his chair loudly. That seemed to draw the attention of the love birds and they pulled away, their lips making a loud smacking noise to his disgust to which he cringed visibly.

* * *

Hermione gave out a shaky laugh at the look on her best friend's face before she looked back at her boyfriend. She couldn't believe what had just happened only a few moments ago. One second she and Draco were arguing, rather heatedly, and the next she had just received an unofficial marriage proposal in the form of a negotiation... and she had just agreed! In fact, she _made_ him promise and he had said, she may _depend_ on it as he blinked back his own tears. _Oh, Merlin! _she thought deliriously. _I'm going to get married to Draco Malfoy!_

Draco wore a contented look on his face accompanied by a half smile as he gazed back at her. _I don't see myself with anyone else but you... _she was pretty sure that had she been made of butter, she would have melted on the ground. _What a sap you've become, Hermione Jean Granger_, she told herself.

Harry straightened on his seat. He cleared his throat. "So, ah, Stefan Malfoy it is then."

"Stefan _Andreas _Malfoy," Hermione corrected, beaming at her best friend.

"Oh, right." Harry pushed back his glasses on top of his nose. "I, ah, suppose we're done. I'll be filing these documents and we'll start the interrogation of Grigor Valko in about two or three hours. You two can go out and, ah, celebrate, or whatever. Oh, and congratulations about your official parenthood, Hermione, Malfoy." He nodded at the other man and then smiling at Hermione.

"Thanks," Draco replied in a dry tone, a far cry from the heartfelt thanks he received in the courtroom.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said standing up from her seat. She went around his desk and she pulled her best friend to a stand before enveloping him in another tight hug.

"Don't mention it," he replied. He felt his throat constrict as he pulled back and saw the happiness shining in his best friend's eyes after a long time. He hid it with a ready grin. "Don't mention it. Really." He laughed.

Hermione laughed as well and released him then walked back to Draco's side who was standing behind Stefan's stroller. Draco nodded to Harry in adieu before the opened his office door and pushed Stefan's stroller out. Hermione who was right behind him, paused in the doorway. "By the way, Harry," she said in a saucy voice.

"Yes, Hermione?" He looked up at her expectantly.

"You forgot to congratulate me on my unofficial engagement."

Harry groaned loudly and Hermione laughed as she closed the door behind her.

"Well, hello there Stefan Andreas Malfoy," Hermione murmured as she unstrapped him from the stroller when they got home a little while later. "You, me and Daddy are going to take a nap. All three of us in Daddy's room. And then later, we'll go out for a little celebration. How does that sound?" Stefan made a gurgling sound, an almost laugh, but not quite. "Yeah? Sound good?" Hermione giggled and brought him down on the crib.

"Want me to put him down?" Draco asked from the doorway of Stefan's bedroom.

"No, I'll do it," she said firmly without turning around from lowering the walls of the crib.

"Greedy puss," he said even as he walked inside. "Change him now and I'll take the crib back to our room."

After the ritual, Hermione was carrying Stefan in her arms as Draco pushed the crib to their bedroom and letting it rest at the foot of the bed. He set up the mobile toy and let the lullaby play softly as the unicorns danced around in a circle; Stefan slept faster when it was playing. Hermione set Stefan on the crib, putting a nipple attached to a bottle of milk in his mouth, letting magic tilt the bottle slightly.

Draco pulled off the covers from the bed and collapsed face down. "This has probably the most eventful weekend of my life. I'm used to sleeping little but _Merlin_, I am _so_ exhausted." His voice was muffled by the pillows his face was buried at.

"After the show you put on last night, you should be." Hermione laid gently on her side of the bed. She turned on her side to face him waiting for a response but he lay unmoving... she waited still.. and then she heard snoring. Rolling her eyes, she rolled on her back and closed her eyes with a soft sigh.


	29. Chapter 29

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 29**

Three weeks after that fateful weekend, Draco hunched over his knees, his hands cradling his head, his fingers rubbing his temples one morning. Hermione was having one of her bad days and Stefan wasn't exactly being helpful as Draco woke up to Stefan crying his head off. At almost two months, he was starting to have an attitude, or something.

It was Saturday noon. Draco had come home late last night after having drinks with his co-workers over at E.M.L., James Liebeck, his boss, included. Actually... that wasn't all. It had been an impromptu unofficial stag do for Liebeck because he just proposed to Deirdre Bronagh and she accepted. So, to say the least, it had been a rather eventful night not just for him, but for everyone.

Perhaps Draco had a little too much to drink and he had a little too much fun.

They ate large thick steaks like kings, drank like there was no tomorrow, puffed on cigars and allowed themselves to be catered by half-naked women, and then some.

"Cheers!" Six healthy, virile men chorused as they clanked their tiny shot glasses together, laughing as some liquid went over the rim. "Here's to James Liebeck who's about to get himself shackled!" The director of sales, Carter Grimmnitz, hollered. Immediately, they all tipped the shot glass to their lips.

"Hey," Draco slurred with a goofy grin plastered on his face, "he's not the only one! My girlfriend has agreed to marry me - someday!"

The other five men shouted with laughter as they called for another round of shots. "Firewhiskey!" James Liebeck insisted.

"Celebratin' anythin' loves?" A buxom redhead stopped by their table, her Cockney accent eliciting a few interests from the occupants of the table.

"These two," Nick Padmore of advertising piped in, pointing to Draco and James, "are going to get married!"

The redhead grinned, her full red lips stretched across, showing her slightly crooked, but white teeth before she came around the table and flopped herself down on Draco's lap. "Now, why would you go do something stupid like that?"

"S'not stupid. I'm with the most amazing witch ever," Draco whined. "She's the smartest witch of our age, you know, not that I'd admit that to her."

"He's dating _the_ Hermione Granger!" John Porpington of accounting revealed. "Lucky bastard if you asked me."

The redhead pouted. "I don't know who she is."

"She's like- the best healer ever!" James laughed, "besides my darling Deirdre of course."

"Don't know why you two are so excited to get yourself married off," grumbled Michael Dodderidge from logistics. "I rather like being a bachelor."

The other men snorted with more laughter. Really, what was so funny? It seemed that they can't seem to stop laughing.

The redhead was still pouting because the blond was the one that caught her eye. He was somewhat handsome even though he was on the lanky side but he held an air around him that screamed 'I'm rich'. She stood up from Draco's lap, deliberately brushing her bum against his groin, slowly, and turned to see his reaction. She was disappointed, for he was too busy laughing at something one man was saying to notice.

Three more women appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere on the table. "Hey loves," they chorused, two were brunettes and one was a blonde. The redhead grinned for they were her friends.

There were a series of hellos from the men.

"Mind if we join you?" The blonde asked boldly, draping an arm over Michael Dodderidge.

"Not at all," Michael replied. "In fact, why don't you make yourselves comfortable," he said as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and dragged her down on his lap, making the girl squeal and giggle at the same time.

The other women took this as an invitation and squeezed themselves between the men. The redhead, of course, took to Draco's side.

From then on, the night continued over more drinks, more laughs and a little show from the women. Draco was appalled at their behavior, conservative man that he was, as he turned away from the image of his co-worker grinding against the blonde with clothes on. He shuddered in disgust and did his best to ignore them. It was just as well, as he kept prying off the redhead's hand that always seemed to find itself on his thigh.

James called for more drinks.

Draco came home staggering drunk around four or five in the morning and Hermione, had no means of communication with him so she had worried herself to death. She was furious when he came home in that state. What made her more even furious was the fact that he tried to have sex with her. Oh, the nerve of that man! She kicked him - literally - off the bed and pushed him, with all her might out of the door, and then locked it. He wasn't even sober enough to fight her. She came to bed, seething with anger. She fell asleep, a frown on her face, deeply disappointed in him.

She didn't tolerate such actions on Harry and Ron, why on earth would she start with him now? _Especially him_.

As it was, he was seated on his reclining lounge chair in the living room and whenever he tried to say something, she would shout at him. When he tried to come near her, she would back swiftly away. When he came to get Stefan, she would shot him a venomous gaze that made him back off.

He still had a hangover and Hermione shut herself and Stefan in Stefan's room with a bunch of books so Draco assumed she would be reading to the kid.

_What the hell did I do_? he thought to himself as he straightened on his seat. He stood up suddenly, ignoring the dizziness, barged down on Stefan's door. It was locked. _Typical._

"Hermione Granger, you open this door right now," he said loudly, twisting the doorknob.

"Go away," her muffled voice through the door replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Stop being so bloody immature, face me like an adult."

She didn't reply.

He pursed his lips before he banged on the door loudly twice with his open palm. He growled in frustration. "I am not in the mood for this - talk to me when you decide to grow up!" He yelled, banging on the door one last time for good measure. As soon as he turned around he heard some shuffling inside the room. He paused.

A second later, the door opened long enough for her to yell, "Go to hell!" And then the door was slammed again, shaking the paintings that hung on the wall near the door.

He growled again and fought the urge to break down the damn door and do something to her that might be considered as domestic violence. He was just _so _angry and he hadn't even done a thing to her!

_WOMEN! _

He stalked back to the living room and collapsed back on his chair. So what if he came home drunk one night? It was probably the only third time he had ever done that ever since they got together - certainly he wasn't making a habit of it, but he _had _been invited to a celebration and celebrate he did!

Now he remembered why he didn't get himself into long-term relationships. Suddenly there were rules!

It wasn't like he _cheated _on her. He was sure that he didn't - even though he wasn't voted Mr. Congeniality, it went against his morals to cheat on someone you were on an exclusive relationship with, especially to someone you're _almost_ engaged to and not to mention the fact that they have an adopted child together. He did flirt with some women, yes, but he didn't touch any one of them, he couldn't bear even the thought of touching someone else. So what the hell was her problem?

Was there any way for a man to figure out women?

He snorted out loud. _"That_ is probably the question that science could never answer."

Deciding to nurse his hangover on his own, because she refused to consult him, he decided it was best to sleep again so he dragged himself back to his bedroom, stripped off his shirt and pants and furrowed under the covers. Almost immediately, he fell asleep.

* * *

Hermione growled as she flooed over to 12 Grimmauld Place, carrying Stefan. Ginny was right there to greet her, with an eyebrow raised. "Take him," she said as she held out Stefan. Ginny took him from her immediately, seeing the anger radiate from her friend. The brunette paced back and forth, her fists clenched on her side. "Draco Malfoy is a stupid man."

Ginny sighed. "What did he do _this_ time?"

"He came home inebriated and then tried to have sex with me!" Hermione seethed, waving her hands in the air for emphasis. "Is there no justice for women in this world anymore? Damn it all to bloody hell. That stupid man! When I pushed him away, he said, 'why the hell did you do that? I want you now'. So I kicked him off the bed and out of the room. Outside he shouted, 'I didn't touch the girl who kept going for me at the Three Kings and this is how you thank me, you ungrateful woman?' Really, Ginny, can you imagine the nerve of _that_ smug bastard?"

Her friend sighed again as Hermione continued to rant. For at least twice a month she did this, every time she and Malfoy had a fight. Well, so far, Ginny guessed, that this was one of the worst fights.

Suddenly aware that the brunette wasn't talking anymore, Ginny said the first thing that came to her mind. "What do you expect, Hermione? He's Draco Malfoy. He's a purebred smug bastard through and through."

Ginny was quite unprepared for Hermione's onslaught. "He _is_ not!" Hermione screeched. "_You know_ he's changed, but he can be very stupid sometimes and it drives me crazy most of the time."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Geez, Hermione, make up your mind. Do we hate or do we _not _hate him?"

The anger seemed to drain out of her as she faced Ginny. "I hate him. I really hate him right now," she said softly.

"But...?"

"But I love him. I really love him too."

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny sighed. "Come here. Let me give you a hug, you poor thing, you're confused aren't you?"

Hermione slowly came to rest beside Ginny, her head resting on her petite shoulder, careful not to lean too heavily as Stefan was in her arms. "Yes," she sighed as well. "He drives me up the wall sometimes, you know? He's so egotistic, overly-dominant and impossibly moody. He throws his clothes about the room, he leaves the toilet seat up and he never cleans up after himself because he has _two_ house elves - do you know how painful it is for me to live with that fact? He threatens them, you know! He threatens to give them clothes _for fun_."

"He sounds like he's your worst nightmare," the younger woman commented as she rubbed one hand on Hermione's head.

"He is! And then he does this... the thing that he did last night. I had never been so angry at him and _that's_ saying something. Sometimes h-he insist that I wear his old Slytherin uniform when w-we- " she groaned as her companion laughed hysterically. "Never mind."

"Th-that is the funniest thing ever," Ginny shrieked with laughter, startling Stefan on her chest. "You're the most loyal Gryffindor I've ever known, you take the Houses way too seriously than anyone else I know."

Hermione flushed.

"I would love to see _you _in a Slytherin uniform!" She burst into another fit of laughter.

"Shut up, Ginevra," Hermione murmured as she straightened away from her shoulder. An unwilling smile creased her face because Ginny's laughter was so happy and infectious, she couldn't help but laugh a bit as well. The Weasleys really knew how to lift her mood, Ron, however, was the champion. She had thought of coming to him first, but she had to stop being dependent on Ron too much now that Dawn Winspear was there to take her place... she let her laughter trail off.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but... you have to admit it's a bit of a crack. Anyway, where is your boyfriend?"

"He's sleeping." She rolled her eyes. "He's having the mother of hangovers I'm sure, and I locked off my potions stash. He deserves it."

Ginny was silent for a moment. "Hermione, Harry mentioned something to me by the way. Did Malfoy really propose to you?"

The corners of her lips twitched. "In a way," she said. "We were fighting about whose last name Stefan was going to use and then he said that we should use his because when he and I... you know, decide to get married, we wouldn't have to change it again." She was smiling now. "He said that he doesn't see himself with anyone else but me in the future."

"Well, I'll be," Ginny muttered incredulously.

"I know," Hermione gushed. "You know that I'm not one for mushy romantic stuff, Gin. To me, that's probably the best proposal in the history of proposals!"

"I'm awestruck, Hermione. And you said yes?"

"Of course!"

"Blimey. Miss Independent has just agreed to marry someone?"

Hermione frowned. "Miss Independent?"

"Yes," Ginny laughed. "You kind of give that impression. You keep saying you're not in any hurry to tie yourself down to any man because you're already married to your work. Now you're mother and you're engaged!"

"I'm not _really_ engaged - it's more of an agreement. There's not even a ring, see?" Hermione held up her ringless left hand wriggled her fingers. "Anyway, we're not in a hurry. It's been only been a few months."

"So? You've known each other for eighteen years!"

"Half of which consisted the two of us hating each other beyond recognition."

The two women continued to converse about Hermione and Draco's relationship. The good, the bad, and the in-between. For what it was worth, they both concluded that the kind of jerk Draco was being wasn't exactly uncommon for men in general. So when Stefan started fussing from the lack of attention, hunger and sleepiness, Hermione took him home, feeling extremely better from since last night.

The sight that greeted her at home later, definitely had her staggering in shock. Draco was there to greet her, a sheepish expression on his face, looking better than when she had left him, leaning against a wall. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hi, yourself," she replied coolly, straightening Stefan in her arms. She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. When he didn't say anything, just simply stared at her, she rolled her eyes and walked past him, to the hallway and then Stefan's room. She shrugged when he followed her, she wasn't even angry anymore.

Stefan started crying loudly. His cries seeming to bounce off around the room, echoing loudly around them. Hermione reached for a ready bottle on the table and bounced him carefully in her arms as she put the bottle to his mouth. However, Stefan avoided it, crying louder now. She winced.

"Let me," Draco said softly from behind her.

She shrugged again, surrendered Stefan to him. When Draco got hold of him, she turned to leave the room. But before she passed through the open doorway she heard him sigh. She paused, glancing at him briefly before turning around again and leaving the room. When she was out on the hallway, she echoed his sigh.


	30. Chapter 30

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 30**

Another week passed by and Hermione was still reserved with Draco. He still didn't know what he did to make her mad. When he asked, she said, 'oh, figure it you, drunkard!' and that made angry because he resented being called a drunkard when it had been only that _one _time. He glowered at her before walking out of the bedroom that night and slept on the couch.

He was surprised at how long Hermione has kept up a grudge; with their fights before, they usually shout at each other till their voices were hoarse and she would shut herself in the bathroom while he banged stuff around, until when it was time to sleep, they would say sorry, that whoever's fault it was doesn't really matter and then they would proceed with the fantastic makeup sex...

But now that Stefan was around, they just couldn't shout at each other, bang stuff around and have sex anytime they want. Draco assumed that it was because the lack of outlet for their frustrations had caused them to grow agitated with each other. Because face it, the two of them were both moody with short but exploding tempers. This surely was one of the biggest challenges of their relationship - themselves.

They were complete opposites but at the same time, so much alike.

It was around four in the afternoon. He sat in his office, feeling miserable, when Harry Potter barged inside his office suddenly. Startled, he looked up and saw that he wore a somber expression on his face. Draco frowned.

"What's up, Potter?"

"Sorry for barging in, Malfoy, but I just wanted you to know that I had to let go of Valko. The Wizengamot doesn't it feel necessary to lock him up. Like I said before, there weren't any witnesses and there aren't any evidences."

The first thing that Draco felt was horrified, but a few moments later, it lessened and he was just more than annoyed now. It mirrored on his face as he said to Harry, "You incompetent buffoon."

Harry scowled deeply.

"But I will, however, look this over because I am now in knowledge of how a complete idiot Grigor Valko is," Draco continued offhandedly. "I figured this out when that night when he attempted to take Stefan. He may know a bit of dark magic, but he's rather slow, couldn't even defend himself against the charms we learned during our third year in Hogwarts."

"He _is_ a bit slow," Harry admitted, the corners of his mouth pulling up in a reluctant smile.

The other man drew back when he saw Harry smiling. _Dear Merlin, I have to get Potter to leave before he decides to suggest that we become _friends_. _He shuddered at that thought. "Now, if you don't mind," Draco spat out, "I have some work to do."

Harry rolled his eyes and left immediately.

When Draco was alone, he drew in sharp breath. Grigor Valko was a free man, but like he had told Potter earlier, he wasn't exactly much of a threat against Draco and Hermione. He was scared of the fact that they would rather be caught off guard by the Bulgarian oaf.

Grigor Valko wasn't exactly what one could call bright. Draco had done his research about him - he found out that Valko hadn't graduated from Durmstrang Institute. Rather, he was expelled due to receiving poor marks every year and he caused a lot of trouble by bullying the younger students. He was now living off on his inheritance - partying, sleeping around - witch or not, and dipping his fingers in stock so he didn't really have to work.

Other than that, he was completely harmless, stupid even.

Draco wasn't worried.

* * *

"You're late," Hermione spat out as she glanced warily at the dark-haired woman in front of her as she, too, took a seat.

Rayna Pavlina sighed as she leaned back against the back of the chair, pushing her fashionable sunglasses to the top of her head. "I'm sorry, but ve neeed to retake a couple of shots."

They were in central Muggle London, not far from the Kings Cross Station. Rayna left a message on her phone at her own flat (one she still visited once a day) to meet her at a café.

"So what did you want to meet me for?" Hermione demanded without preamble. "No offense, Rayna, but I am a busy woman. I have better things than listen you complain about the fashion world."

Rayna pursed her lips, her dark eyes flashing. "I did not come here for zat."

_Her accent was more pronounced when she was annoyed_, Hermione realized. She didn't say anything in reply, but merely raising an eyebrow at her expectantly.

The Bulgarian sighed again. "I am sorry for everything."

It was still met with silence.

"I vish to know how..." Rayna hesitated, "Stefan is doing."

"He's perfect," Hermione said coldly. "No thanks to you." Normally, Hermione was a woman of words but now, she seemed incapable of saying more than a few words to the other woman. She was still resentful for what she had done to her own child, but at the same time, she was almost thankful that she decided to abandon. Hermione loved Stefan inside and out, with everything she had, and she could not imagine her life without him. She also knew that Draco felt the exact same way about Stefan.

"I vant to see him."

"No." Hermione's response was firm and immediate. She had seen this coming, why else would the biological mother of your adopted son meet with the adoptive mother?

"You cannot deny my vish. I am the mother," Rayna said vehemently.

"You may have given birth to Stefan but he is _my_ son. You have ceased to be his mother the moment you abandoned him and decided that a fashion show was more important than his welfare."

Rayna's eyes narrowed at the brunette. "He vas perfectly fine vhen I left- "

"I was informed by your housekeeper that you are not to return until the end of the month. And I saw his room - there was nothing in there except a frail crib, a few clothes, a few shoes. You meant for the baby to be abandoned!" Hermione didn't realize that her voice had raised and was drawing a few attention from a few nearby customers of the café they were staying in. "And really, how dare you name me as the guardian without my knowledge? I don't know how you managed to grant my guardianship without my consent but I don't care anymore! I'm glad you did that. Because I decided to adopt Stefan."

"You adopted h-him?" Rayna gasped.

"I adopted him," Hermione repeated firmly. "Draco and I did."

"It's his son."

"It's not." The brunette shook her head. "It is Grigor Valko's. By the way, did you know, he came to our home with the intention of killing the baby?"

"Grigor vould never do zat!"

"He would. If it weren't for Draco, he would have succeeded. I won't go into detail, because really, you don't really care what happens to Stefan, am I right? After this, Rayna, I never want to see your face ever again or else I'll he- I'll make sure you will regret it."

Rayna nodded slowly. "I understand, Mine. But please, you have to know... Grigor is not vhat you think he is. He can do things to you that you cannot imagine..."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

The woman leaned forward. "He can inflict pain - I do not know how, but whenever I did something he did not like, I feel my insides burning and that I vould vant to die from how much it hurt."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "How can he do that?" Hermione asked, feigning astonishment. "It is impossible!"

"You vould not understand," Ranya said solemnly.

"You're right, I wouldn't," she agreed readily. "Why don't you do me a favor, Miss Pavlina? Stay away from him, if you know what he is capable of. And as for me, I'm not worried about him."

"Vhy not?"

Smiling slightly, Hermione said, "Let's just say I have had training in combat."

* * *

That evening, Draco had made up his mind to talk to Hermione. After they made up, he would insist that they bring Stefan over to the Grangers' home to stay overnight. He and his girlfriend had a lot of making up to do.

But unfortunately for him, Hermione wasn't home. In fact, Ginny Potter was in his living room, the telly flashing brightly and she was playing with Stefan. "Hello, Mrs. Scarhead."

"Hello Mr. Know-It-All," Ginny replied neutrally. She had already become accustomed to the names Malfoy kept calling her. She just the returned the favor every time.

"Where's Mrs. Know-It-All?"

"She went out with her friend." The redhead shrugged. "She'll be back around eight, I believe?"

Draco nodded. "I'll take over now, sorry for the inconvenience."

Ginny smiled. "It's fine, Stefan's a little angel. He's no trouble at all."

"I know." Draco smirked.

* * *

Hermione hadn't spent much time with Rayna. After their discussion about Grigor, they talked for a few more moments and Hermione left. Rayna apologized and said that she wished to continue being friends. Hermione declined, of course, and the Buglarian graciously accepted. She apologized one last time and requested for a hug. Hermione complied and she walked away, looking back one last time, knowing that it was the last time she would ever hear from her.

The long alley was empty, as always and it was actually a shortcut that would lead to the street where Cornerstone Apartments were.

"Vhat took you so long?" The familiar voice rasped from a few paces behind her.

She nearly groaned out loud as she turned around, her hand flying to her wand in her pocket, hidden by the coat she wore. "May I help you?" she inquired lightly. "I thought you were locked up somewhere in the Ministry."

Grigor Valko took another step closer to her. A light above illuminating his face. "I have been released, as you can see."

Hermione frowned. "Is that so?"

"It is so."

"Hmm." Draco was right when he told her that he could easily be distracted. Because of this knowledge she decided to sidetrack him as much as possible. She didn't really want to duel with anyone, but if he _did _try something, she would be forced to start throwing out a hex. Stefan wasn't here to distract her. Stefan was with Ginny, and she knew that Ginny was more than capable of protecting him. "How did that happen?"

Grigor shrugged. "They are very stupid, I am guessing."

"Why did you follow me?"

"I need to have that child killed."

"He's not your child," Hermione said.

"Liar!"

"No, I am not lying. Draco is the father."

"He is?"

Hermione saw his eyes widen. She tilted her head at his dimwittedness. "Yes, I am a healer, I have done a blood spell. His and Draco's DNA matched perfectly. Stefan is a Malfoy."

His shoulders sagged. He was less tense now. And then he glanced at her face, his eyes narrowed. "You think me stupid, mudblood? I have seen his name in our family tree at my ancestral home in Bulgaria. You vill get the child so my father vill kill him. This has been too troublesome. The others vere not this troublesome."

She felt her blood run cold. "You have killed children before?"

"Of course," he said as if it was obvious. "I admit that I have not been good at charms, particularly contraceptive charms."

"It is quite simple- "

"Quiet," he hissed, his tone dangerously low. "Take me to your building. I vant this over and done with."

Immediately, Hermione whipped out her wand. As soon as she had her hand outstretched, it flew out of her grasp. _Damn_, she thought, _I am definitely losing my touch_.

"I came prepared," Grigor said simply.

Hermione thought of taking him to 12 Grimmauld Place where Harry could be but then she remembered that James and Albus were there, and she wouldn't dare endanger them. _If _Grigor Valko was, in fact, dangerous. She decided that she would just take her chances this time. She threw herself over to Grigor's body and knocked him to his back, her hand reaching to grip her wand that was in his grasp.

Grigor laughed and wrapped a hand around her neck. "You meddling mudblood," he spat out. "You vill take me to the child."

His hand hadn't tightened around her throat but she felt her insides screaming in protest as he cast the similar curse he threw at her the weekend he attempted to kidnap Stefan. This time, it was more painful, she realized because he has his hand on her. She tried to resist it but was unable to stop the scream that tore out her throat. _I'm going to die_, she thought.

"Not yet."

Suddenly, he removed his hand from her and the curse stopped. She desperately sucked in breath and then started choking. "Go to hell," she wheezed out as soon as she caught her breath.

He didn't say anything as grasped her arm and pulled the two of them to a stand. Her body sagged, the curse leaving her very weak. Without warning, he apparated the two of them.

Hermione's body thudded against the front door of Draco's flat. She hadn't been ready for the apparition and had unfortunately splinched herself on the side. She was bleeding. Profusely. She opened her eyes to see Grigor looking at her with a sick look of pleasure on his face.

The door gave way and felt her back crash onto Draco's front. She cried out.

"Hermione- "

"Vhere is the child?"


	31. Chapter 31

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 31**

"What did you do to her?" Draco demanded coldly as he clutched Hermione's limp form against him. She seemed to be slowly losing consciousness.

"Not much," Grigor replied dismissively. "Get me the child and I vill never lay a finger on her again."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Grigor's knees buckled and he fell forward on his hands supporting his body. Draco glanced down at Hermione and saw that she had her hand raised. He smiled slightly. "Show off," he muttered, referring to her wandless non-verbal magic ability. His smile disappeared completely as her drooped and fell closed.

Draco threw a glance at Grigor who was trying to get on his feet. He took this as an opportunity to attack, but Hermione was his first concern. "_Serpensortia,_" he said in a hard voice and immediately, a snake appeared from nothingness right in front of him. "That should keep you busy," he told Grigor who fell back on his bottom and backed away quickly, wands (Hermione's included) in hand. He shook his head at him as he leaned down to support half of Hermione's body under her knees. He walked quickly inside.

He quickly ran to the fireplace and threw in some flew. "Potter!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

A few moments later, Harry's face appeared. "What_ now_, Malf- " he stopped speaking abruptly as he saw his best friend, unconscious in Draco's arms.

Draco stepped back to allow him inside. "Valko," he said coldly. "Stefan's in his room. Take him and keep him safe. Valko's outside, I kept him distracted while I get Stefan to safety and take Hermione to St. Mungo's. _NOW_!" he barked out as he threw in another handful of powder. He stated his destination. "Get Stefan _now_," he said again and Harry snapped out of it and ran to Stefan's room. He stepped in the fireplace and felt his body being tugged, the familiar sensation of flooing.

A second later, he stepped out of the fireplace and found himself in the familiar surroundings. "Help," he said loudly to no one in particular. "It's Healer Granger. She needs to be treated _immediately._"

Immediately, about half a dozen healers surrounded him and conjured a stretcher. Draco laid her down on in gently. He looked down on her pale face for a moment before turning away.

He was torn between three things: see to Hermione's treatment, check on Stefan, and finally, make Grigor Valko suffer for what he had done to her. His fists clenched on his sides, he stood there in the middle of the crowded room. Drawing in a deep breath, he slowly released it before he approached the admissions desk.

"Is Healer Bronagh around?" he asked the woman on the desk. At her hesitant nod, "find her and tell her to watch over Healer Granger who, I believe, is in the emergency room at the moment."

At the woman's gasp, she grabbed some kind of coin that Draco assumed was means of communication around the hospital. He turned away from the woman, he walked back to the fireplace and flooed over back to his flat.

Grigor had indeed worked fast as he soon as he saw his apartment had turned upside down. Draco walked inside, drawing out his wand from his pocket. "Grigor," he called out tauntingly.

"Draco," he heard him growl and saw him come out from Stefan's bedroom. "Vhere is the child?" Grigor yelled in frustration.

The blond didn't say anything as he waved his wand and threw out a curse. Grigor dodged it and with his wand, shouting out one of his own. Draco dodged it as well. "Wow," Draco said sarcastically. "You learned a new spell."

"I vill kill you," he said.

"You will do no such thing," Draco said softly. He blasted another curse at him. Grigor dodged but it grazed his shoulder, cutting through the thick sweater he wore, and onto the skin.

Grigor swore in Bulgarian.

"Don't think I will let you off easily like I did the last time after what you did to my girlfriend. _I _will be the one doing the killing right here. And you will never get your filthy hands on my son. By the way," Draco added offhandedly, "how'd you get on with my friend? _Hiss hiss._"

Grigor sneered at him hatefully. "_Crucio!_"

Draco was caught of guard by that but was able to dodge the Cruciatus Curse. "My, oh my," Draco said sneeringly. His thoughts suddenly drifted to when he was between the age of sixteen and seventeen. He had performed this under Voldemort's orders on Thorfinn Rowle and Antonin Dolohov. He had also attempted to cast same curse at Harry Potter during the confrontation in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Unfortunately for the Bulgarian, that gave Draco an idea... but first, he decided to play with him first. Smirking, he successfully dodged another curse the Bulgarian sent at him. Draco flicked his wand. "_Impedimenta._"

The Buglarian's movements slowed. His eyes widened.

"_Ventus_."

A shot of wind flew out of the tip of Draco's wand and then it blew under Grigor's legs and he was knocked out of his feet. But by then, the impediment spell had lost its effects and Grigor was able to stand up quickly. He quickly threw a spell at Draco but it was too weak, merely throwing him back against the wall. He threw another curse, but Draco managed to dodge it successfully by rolling to his right.

Draco's nostrils flared in annoyance. "_Confringo._" He threw the blasting curse from his place on the floor, hoping to Merlin that it hit Grigor in the face. He heard an explosion and pieces of broken furniture rained down around the living room.

A complete and total silence filled the entire place. He stood up carefully...

And was immediately met by the Cruciatus Curse from Grigor's wand. He howled at the pain, collapsing on his knees, tears forming in his eyes at the familiar feeling of a thousand knives piercing into his skin and his body twitched horribly and he was _sure_ that his head was going to explode any minute. He had been exposed to this Unforgivable Curse once before, alongside his parents, a lifetime ago, in the hands of Voldemort.

It wasn't over too soon for Draco when Grigor released the Unforgivable Curse from him. He took in deep gulps of precious air, letting it fill his lungs. His hands came to clutch on his head as he struggled to get back on his feet.

"I vill ask one last time, Malfoy," Grigor's voice had turned hard and cold from above his head. "Vhere is the child?"

Draco didn't answer as he straightened his body, his muscles protesting, but he ignored. He was angry - and he embraced his anger, reveled in it, and used it as his source of power.

Faster than he had ever been in his life, he slashed his wand at him and hissing, "_Sectumsempra_." He reminded himself to thank Potter for that one, even if it almost killed him. How could he ever forget such a spell that almost killed him? The spell was not in the books, he knew because he searched frantically for it. He didn't remember what the counter-curse Snape had muttered, since he was almost unconscious by the time he came.

Grigor thudded on his back and blood started to spurt from various parts of his body and he started to claw at his chest and arms, trying to fend off the invisible knives that slashed him, making deep gashes. His wand falling to his side and his hands grew weak until he could barely move anymore, his face ashen white as he lay on his back, unmoving, over a large pool of his own blood. His _pure_ blood.

Draco stood over the Bulgarian, a small, dark and malicious smile on his face.

"Malfoy!" Harry called as he flooed into the scene. His eyes searched the chaotic living room and rested on Draco's form. Harry came forward to inquire about what happened to the place when his gaze followed to where Draco was looking. He growled as he recognized the spell - how could Harry not? He unknowingly almost killed Draco with that one. He shoved the taller form of Draco and ignored when the former Slytherin weakly staggered back against a piece of overturned furniture, pointing his wand at the Bulgarian. "_Vulnera Sanentur._"

It took a lot of effort but Draco managed to straighten himself again, wanting to curse the interfering bastard, but was now too weak from the result of the Cruciatus Curse. He stared at Harry coldly, his chin tilted up.

Harry straightened and stared back at Draco with equal coldness. His voice was rough as he spoke to the former Slytherin. "I will _not _have a murder on my hands, Malfoy."

Draco sneered at him. "Where's my son?"

"With Ginny," Harry replied without flinching. "They're at St. Mungo's, watching over Hermione."

Draco visibly paled. "How is she?"

"She's fine. You should go," Harry said, turning away from the other man and to Grigor who was unconscious on the floor now. "I'll take care of Valko... he's apparently a wanted man by the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic. He's been living with the muggles these past few years, not using his wand so they weren't able to trace him. From my guess, you two had been in a duel, which alerted the Bulgarian Ministry and so they contacted me about almost ten minutes ago. The Aurors from Bulgaria are coming in half an hour to collect Valko."

Surprised, Draco stared at Harry.

Harry looked up for a second to tell Draco, "He won't bother Hermione and Stefan anymore. His sentence is for seventy-five years."

"I want to hear more... later. But first, I'm going to see my family." Draco hesitated. "Are you going to tell her?" There was no mistake on what he was referring to - he _wanted _to murder Valko, felt the satisfaction as he saw the Bulgarian lying in his own pool of blood.

"No," Harry said firmly, "because you will."

Nodding solemnly, Draco turned away from Harry.

The former Gryffindor swallowed hard as he watched Draco floo over to St. Mungo's. For years, he bugged Hermione to settle down and start a family, to lessen her focus on her career... and then all of sudden, everything came tumbling down on her lap. It was just unfortunate that it was Draco Malfoy, but the stricken look as he carried Hermione's limp form was enough to convince Harry that the former Slytherin truly loved Hermione... but that didn't mean he had to like it. Grimacing, he proceeded to arrest Grigor Valko for the second and the last time.

Draco dragged his weakened form through the hallway of St. Mungo's, fourth floor. He had been here a number of times and he knew where his girlfriend was situated. His muscles were aching, protesting but he ignored them, his desire to see how Hermione was doing was greater. Finally, for what _felt _like an hour, he pushed inside the room where Hermione was recuperating.

Inside, Ginny was seated on a chair reading a paperback beside the bed and Stefan was sleeping soundly in a crib provided by the hospital at the foot of the bed. Hermione was lying on the narrow hospital bed in a hospital gown with a thin sheet covering her from the waist down. Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling in an even pattern, but she lay there unmoving. She was a bit pale, but she looked okay.

He walked slowly inside, nodding to Ginny in greeting before he sat on the edge of the bed. His hand came up to stroke lovingly on her cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

From the other side of the bed, Ginny snorted into her book.

Draco turned to glare at the redhead. "Find anything funny, Mrs. Saint Potter?"

"Nothing," she said faintly, pretending to be absorbed in her book.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to Hermione. "And I'm sorry for getting mindlessly drunk that I had no idea what I did to make you mad. I won't do it again, I promise."

Ginny snorted again, but this time, closed her book and turned to face him. "Why don't you tell all that to her when she's awake? It would probably be more romantic. She's heavily sedated, you know, she can't hear you."

Draco growled at Ginny. "Stop talking. It's annoying."

"And here I thought I was giving you tips on how to be Romeo."

He ignored that and used a different method. He smiled a fake sweet smile at her. "Mrs. Potter, thank you so much for watching over my son and Hermione. I no longer require your services. You are free to go. Your sons are probably wondering where you are."

Ginny smiled faintly in amusement. "No, they're not. They're over at the Burrow and they're having the time of their lives with _all_ of their cousins. Besides, she has always taken care of me and this is the only chance I'll ever get to return the favor."

"Tough one, isn't she?"

"Very," she confirmed and then her smile faded as she _really _looked at him. "You look terrible, Malfoy."

He grimaced. "Yeah, well, Valko isn't exactly a harmless fairy."

She squinted her eyes and leaned forward. She gasped. "Malfoy, you're bleeding!"

"Huh?" He looked down on his shirt. It was torn and dirtied, but he saw no signs of blood. He looked back up at Ginny. "What the hell are you talking about?" As he said it, he was suddenly aware of a thick warm gooey liquid at the side of his head. He reached up to touch the source of the blood. He winced as his fingers felt an open wound. Funny, how he didn't notice that. This must be the reason why two healers he passed by were calling out to him, which he completely ignored.

"Come on, let me take you- "

"No, I'm fine," he said firmly even as his eyes squinted because he saw two redheads instead of one. He shook his head. "You can go home now," he insisted. "I'll watch over these two."

She pursed her lips. "I'm staying here. Harry's on his way to Bulgaria anyway."

"Suit yourself," Draco said dismissively and he suddenly his world started to spin, catching himself by bracing a hand on the bed, careful to avoid disturbing Hermione. "Whoa," he said.

"By Merlin, you are as stubborn as Hermione is." Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. She stood up and reached over Hermione's bed where a button on the wall was, pushing it.

"Oh, now you've gone and done it." The former Slytherin glared again at the redheaded twins. _No, wait there were three of them now..._

The door burst open and revealed one female healer and thankfully two trainee healers who were male. Ginny cried out in alarm, startling the baby on the foot of the bed, causing him to wake up and start to wail. The two male trainee healers stepped forward just in time to catch Draco as he lost consciousness and started to fall forward towards the floor.


	32. Chapter 32

**IT HAD TO BE YOU**

By Kate Dessi

**Chapter 32**

Draco was unconscious for the next three days due to a concussion. When he woke up in the room across from Hermione's, he ran on wobbly legs to her room to see her sitting up in bed, with Stefan lying in front of her. She was playing with their child and he laughed in relief. She looked up at him with a brilliant smile. She was still recovering, the effects of the curse still weighing her body down. Draco figured out what the curse was the day when they were discharged from St. Mungo's - it was used by the heads of the family - pureblood of course - to "discipline" their wives and/or children. His father never used that one on him, however. Contrary to popular belief, Lucius was a doting husband and father. His choice of discipline had been abstinence. He was a hard man, except when it comes to his family.

He insisted that Hermione and Stefan to stay with the Potters first. He had to make sure that the flat was in check. She was reluctant, but in the end she relented and took Stefan to 12 Grimmauld Place. Draco wasn't the least bit surprised to find his flat spotless. He had to thank his house elves for that. He went inside each room to make sure. Satisfied, he went back to the living room to find himself frowning.

He had almost lost Stefan over a month ago. He had almost lost Hermione a week ago.

The thought of this happening sent him reeling back and he collapsed on the sofa, buried his face in his hands. He couldn't afford to lose them. He couldn't imagine life without them.

He uncoiled from his pathetic position and leaned back against the couch. His hand drifted to his pocket which contained the ring he had bought about two days during their dry spell before the Grigor Valko decided to make another appearance in their lives. He fingered the ring, hooking the tip of his pinky finger to bring it out.

It was pave set diamond flunked by more tiny diamonds around the platinum. It was simple, elegant, a bit expensive yes, but it wasn't ridiculous. Hermione would love it. He had been walking down in Muggle London, thinking about how he was going to make her talk to him again when he passed by a jewelry store when he saw _it_. Somehow, he just _knew_ that it was made for Hermione.

Knowing Hermione, she probably didn't want to make a big deal about an engagement and he was _sure_ that she wouldn't want a big wedding. He felt the same, he didn't want to make that much of a fuss, but Hermione was still a woman and despite her qualms about she didn't _hated _ being overly romantic, she would want a wedding especially since it would be her only wedding with her parents on her side.

He spoke the entire truth when he told her that day in Potter's office that he couldn't imagine his future with anyone else but her... Taking a deep breath, he stood up from the couch as he pocketed the ring back. He called for his house elf to make them some dinner and that Hermione and Stefan will be back in a while.

When he arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place, he found himself greeted by the eldest son of the Potters immediately, grubby hands tugging on his slacks.

"Hi, Draco," James peered up his green eyes at him. "Mum and Dad are talking with Auntie Mine and they don't want to play with me. Albus is sleeping and Stefan can't do _anything,_" he whined with a stomp on his foot. "Will you play with me? I gots a new board games from Uncle Georgie!"

Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was the second time he met James Potter. He was surprised at the kid's behavior because the last time he was here, he had been a bit subdued and showed maturity for his age. If Draco was honest with himself, he genuinely liked this kid, despite who his father was. "Okay," he sighed in exasperation. "If I have to."

James giggled and skipped towards the drawing room where the other adults and two babies were. Albus was sitting up on his father's lap and had a teething ring stuck to his mouth while Stefan was lying limply against his mother's shoulder, drooling over her blouse. The three looked up as he entered, he nodded at them and allowed himself to be pulled by James by the hand in front of the fireplace where his new toys and board games were strewn about on the floor.

Draco shrugged and plopped himself down on the floor.

It was half an hour later when the Draco and James were disturbed. James was clutching his sides as he howled in helpless laughter while Draco was pouting at having one pun of his on the board game he never really understood exploding into oblivion. "You cheat!"

"Is not," James gasped and burst into another fit of giggles.

"Is too," the adult grumbled.

"What a sore loser," Hermione said as she came to stand beside their forms on the floor.

"He's a cheat," her boyfriend said in defense. "He blew up my pun in pieces!"

"You're silly-willy, Draco," James giggled, "I did not. The game did that!"

Draco laughed now, his hand reaching up to ruffle the black of James Potter before he stood up beside Hermione. "It looks like your Auntie Mine's right. I am a sore loser. We'll play again soon and I'll make sure to beat you, you rascal!"

As Hermione laughed at the two of them, seeing her smile, his hand suddenly flew to the outside of his pocket where the ring was, his panic showing in his expression. "Draco? What's wrong?"

He relaxed as soon as he felt the circular object with. He unclenched his fist from his pants and relaxed visibly. "N-nothing," he stuttered, forcing a smile on his face. Why was he suddenly nervous? He questioned himself silently as he felt his palm starting to sweat. He wiped one hand on his pant leg before he captured her hand in his. He leaned forward to lay a chaste kiss on her lips. "Let's go home."

She nodded and she squeezed his hand tightly.

* * *

The lights were dim, emitting a soft golden glow around the flat. In the dining room, the table was set for two. The setting of the dining set was fancy, the food was also served, hot and ready to eat. Draco shook his head in bemusement. He shrugged his shoulders when Hermione at him questioningly. "I'll put Stefan down," he offered and walked to Stefan's bedroom with the baby in his arms. About fifteen minutes later, Stefan fell asleep, comfortably full after a bottle of milk. He emerged from the room to find Hermione leaning on the dining table for four, poking at the food with a fork.

She looked up when he drew closer to her. "Blinky outdid herself this time."

"I know," he responded while he made a face, looking at his surroundings. He shook his head again. "Well, let's get to eating. I am famished."

As they sat from across each other, they talked of mundane things, as per their usual habit every time the had dinner together. This was their first dinner together after two weeks. The first week had been the result of their fight and the latter was spent recovering from each of their own injuries in the hospital.

Draco sighed, putting his fork down to focus on her. "Hermione."

"Yes?" She mumbled through a mouthful of food.

He recoiled in disgust and waited until she swallowed her food. She rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't ever get around to saying sorry about the getting drunk thing."

To his surprise, she smiled at him. "After another incident with Grigor Valko, that seems trivial now, doesn't it? It's fine, Draco. Maybe I had overreacted you kept badgering me to have sex with you in your drunken state and shouting at me about a girl in the bar when I pushed you away." She paused as he gaped at her, paling a little bit. "It's alright now," she assured him quickly. "Don't worry about it."

"I d-d-did that? Bloody hell," he wheezed out as he fell back on his chair, his eyes wide. "I'm _so _sorry, Hermione. I swear, I didn't- oh, Merlin- "

She quickly stood up from her chair and ran to his side, her hands coming to rest on his cheeks and forcing him to look at her. "Draco."

"I won't do it again, I promise. And no girls, I will never _ever _cheat on you. I _swear_ it," he muttered fiercely.

"I know you won't. You're not the type," she said gently. She smiled at him softly and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips. When he kissed her back, she reveled in it because she missed the feel of his lips on hers and the raw taste of him. It had been two weeks since he kissed her like this, she thought as she moaned when he deepened the kiss. She welcomed his tongue, bringing hers forward to meet his in an erotic dance.

Lack of oxygen forced them to break apart. He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm afraid."

"Of what?" she asked, her breath whispering across his mouth.

"I might do something incredibly stupid, irreversible and that you would leave... because I am that - incredibly stupid sometimes. You would want something or someone more than you want me." The image of Grigor Valko lying in his own pool of blood flashed in his mind, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"That will never happen."

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"No."

"Well, I do. I love you."

"I love you too, Draco."

"How much?"

"More so than you can imagine," she whispered.

"Me too." Taking a deep breath, he pulled away from her, pushing away from the table and standing up. He pulled her to him to wrap her in his arms tightly. "Will you always love me?"

"I will," she confirmed. She tilted her head to one side as she tried to decipher what was going in his mind. "Draco, what- " she stopped abruptly when he pulled a sparking diamond _engagement _ring from his pocket. All the air left her body as she stood frozen in his arms.

"I will always love you," he said, pulling back far enough so he could properly look her in the eyes. "We will fight all the time. I will do something stupid and get you angry all the time. I won't clean up after myself and you won't stop nagging me until I do. We will hate each other at some point and we'll drive each other crazy for sure... but I will always love you."

She started crying then - fat teardrops rolling down her cheeks as she nodded in agreement to everything he was saying.

He reached up one hand to wipe at her wet cheeks. "Do you trust the both of us enough to think that we're going to make it?"

"Yes, I do," she whispered. "Now give me my bloody ring."

He threw his head back and roared with laughter before he slipped the ring on her finger. She squealed when he lifted her up in his arms and twirled her around, deliriously happy. He brought her down, deliberately dragging her body down against his. He sucked in his breath at the immediate reaction it brought. It had been _two __weeks _since their most intimate encounter.

"I missed you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "Let's not fight like that again."

"It's a deal," he muttered. He crushed her to him, catching her lips in a lustful kiss.

Soon their dinner was forgotten. Their evening was relocated in their bedroom where they spent the entire night making love, consummating their promise to each other. Getting up only to feed and put Stefan to sleep three times, then going back to bed to restart another bout of coupling. Two weeks had been an awful long time sleeping next to each other without touching each other and they tried to make up for it in a single night. Neither noticed that they hadn't even slept.

* * *

Draco and Hermione called for their friends on the rooftop of Cornerstone Apartments three weeks after their engagement for a small get together over dinner but it would be in a formal setting.

In those three weeks, they took the time to spend it with each other cooped up in their apartment with their son.

Hermione passed her immediate resignation, much to the dismay of the Head Healer, for the purpose of opening her own clinic next year. She decided to spend the rest of the year being a mother to Stefan. Draco would continue to work in E.M.L. Potions and Co. for the next three years but has decided to take over the Malfoy Apothecary, re-launch the family business which had been abandoned since the start of the Second Wizarding War. He would quit working at E.M.L. when the family business would finally get back on its feet.

Blinky and Fenris had worked themselves out to make the rooftop look perfect - night lights glistened, one long dining table set for all their dinner guests, and the entire rooftop was designed in a swirl of colors of royal blue, cream, gold and silver with flowers that Draco himself had conjured to give the place a natural fragrance. All in all, it was elegant. Simple, but elegant. Everyone admired and complimented it when they arrived.

The reactions of their friends and Hermione's parents had been on various categories when they told them they were going to get married.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were thrilled, of course.

Juliet Morrasut, Dawn Winspear, Ginny Potter, Daphne Greengrass and Deirdre Bronagh swooned over her ring, saying that they couldn't believe that Draco himself picked that one out.

Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson were shocked to their core, but then they got over it soon enough and offered their hearty congratulations.

James Liebeck was in attendance as well, his congratulations hearty whose own wedding with the lovely Deirdre Bronagh was about to come the next month.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley... well, they drew the funniest reactions as they hugged each other in comfort, muttering about how everything would be okay for their poor best friend who would be stuck with THE FERRET for the rest of her days. Hermione laughed delightedly, kissing them both tenderly.

"I have one last announcement," Hermione said loudly over the chatters of her friends and family, standing on the platform near the end of the table. Draco excused himself from the conversation with James Liebeck to stand next to his fiancé. He smirked at everyone. "The wedding will take place soon."

"How soon?" Ginny asked, her voice loud and clear so that everyone could hear as she bent over his son to fix his hair.

"In about thirty minutes," Draco answered in an offhanded tone.

Everyone went wild and they started to run around for some reason, except for Hermione's mother who fainted. Thankfully, her husband caught her before she fell on the stone floor, who staggered but was able to straighten himself with the help of Harry who was standing near them. Harry whipped out his wand, pointing it on Mrs. Granger chest and muttering, "_Rennervate._"

Mrs. Granger's eyes fluttered open and she laughed onto her husband's face. "I had the funniest dream, love. Hermione just told us that she will get married in..." she trailed off and pushed away from him to see her daughter running over to her to see if she was fine. "Hermione, my love, you're getting married _tonight?_" she squeaked out.

"Surprise?"

Hermione's mother burst into tears, but she was smiling as she embraced her only daughter. "My baby is getting married - _finally!_"

Laughing in relief, she kissed her mother.

In a few moments, Blinky and Fenris re-arranged the entire rooftop to the way Draco had instructed earlier. The Ceremony Official came barging outside from the building and onto the rooftop. Draco and Hermione disappeared inside the building to change into their respective outfits for their wedding. They walked downstairs in silence, hand in hand.

"You ready for this, Granger?"

"So ready, Malfoy. What about you?"

"So ready."

Inside their flat, they parted. Hermione went to their bedroom while Draco went to Stefan's room where his formal dress robes waited for him. Hermione had already planned how to wear her hair and her makeup. She stripped off her cream-colored cocktail dress and walked over to the vanity Draco had set up for her a couple of weeks ago. She picked up her wand to start on her makeup, she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Draco?"

"No, it's me, love."

Hermione waved her wand to unlock the door. "Come in, Mummy."

Mrs. Granger came in and closed the door behind her. "Oh, my baby's getting married. You can't possibly imagine how happy I am at this moment."

She grinned at her mother through the mirror she stood behind Hermione. "I think I may have an idea, considering it is _my_ wedding," she laughed as she leaned her head back against her mother's stomach. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Mum. We wanted to surprise everyone."

Her mother didn't say anything, she just smiled brilliantly at her daughter and proceeded to help her get ready for her wedding.

Hermione didn't fuss over herself, merely using makeup to enhance her features. She had never been one to wear makeup, never really saw the point in hiding her face. After she applied her makeup, her eyes looked bigger, more mysterious and brighter, her lips fuller in coral, her cheekbones looked high and her skin looked flawless.

Her hair was done in a low bun with wisps of her curly hair falling to frame her face, giving her a soft romantic look.

Her ears were adorned with small dangling diamond earrings that matched her engagement ring were the only jewelry she wore besides the one adorning her left hand.

Her wedding gown was made of lavish embroidery and sparkling beads of gold in a fit and flare gown of ivory to capture the flair of a bygone era. It was finished with scalloped illusion neckline. Just like everything else - it was simple but elegant. Draco hadn't seen her wedding gown yet but she was sure that he would like it.

Stepping away from the mirror, she gazed at her reflection and her mother gasped, awestruck at how beautiful her daughter was. Mrs. Granger started tearing up again and was hugged by her daughter but pulled away before she could get emotional as well. Mrs. Granger left the room to call her husband so he can give away his daughter.

A few moments later a knock on the door sounded. "Daddy?" she called out.

But it wasn't her father. "No, it's me," Draco's voice answered. "May I come in?"

"I don't want you to see me yet," she teased, "it will ruin the surprise."

"We need to talk."

She felt her heart freeze at his somber tone and she stared at the closed door. "About what?"

"Before you marry me, I need to tell you something that _will _disappoint you and I'm not sure you would care to marry me when you hear it." His deep voice was solemn and a little nervous.

"Close your eyes," she said in an equally solemn tone as she opened the door. "You're scaring me," she admitted as soon as he was standing right in front of her with his eyes closed and closed the door behind him with a soft click. "_Oculatero._" She waved a hand over his face to finish the spell, impairing his vision.

Draco's eyes opened and frowned when he didn't see anything but darkness. He reached out one hand and it landed on her shoulder, reaching his other one out, he moved his hands until they were cupping his face. He stepped forward closer to her and laid a soft kiss on her lips, his lips moving as if he was desperate.

She let him kiss her for a while and then pulled away. She laid her hands over his that were still cupping her cheeks. "What is it that you needed to tell me? You're not backing out, are you?"

"No!" he said fiercely, his eyes wide, and then he proceeded to pour his heart out. "Remember when Valko was here a few weeks ago? I called Potter to take Stefan and took you to St. Mungo's. When the healers took care of you, I went back with the intention of killing Valko. I wanted - no, I _needed_ to kill him and I almost did, had it not been for Potter meddling. When I was standing over his body, I felt _satisfied._ So _there_ - I'm sure you wouldn't want to marry a monster because that's what I am." He released her cheeks and staggered back a couple of steps and felt the door on his back. With his vision impaired, he had no idea how she would react and he had never felt more vulnerable in his life than he did in this moment, but he did feel her freeze during his confession. "Tell me now," he said vehemently, unable to keep the bitterness in his voice. "Tell me you don't want to marry a man intent on murder."

He heard her sniff and heard her take a step closer to him. He could feel her body warmth. "But you didn't kill him," she whispered.

"Because Potter prevented it."

"Thank Merlin for Harry then."

"Good old Potter strikes again," Draco muttered bitterly. "Well, you can take off this spell now so I can leave - preferably with my dignity still in tack."

Hermione smiled at him even though he cannot see. She had been expecting that he would say something like he didn't want to marry her anymore, but what he just confessed wasn't bad at all. In fact, she was proud of him that he decided to tell her. "Alright," she said in an amused tone. "I'll take it off so you can go upstairs. I'll be there in a minute."

"Huh?"

She stepped forward and slipped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest. "I don't care if you were going to kill Grigor Valko. I'm just glad you didn't."

"Really?"

"Really." She pulled away from him to stare into his surprised face, his grey eyes out of focus and wide. She kissed him on the cheek. She stepped away from him again, forcefully turned him around and opened the door, pushed him forward with a hard slap on his rear, which she was quite fond of. She laughed when he yelped. "Don't turn around," she warned before saying the counter spell. "_Finite Incantatem_. Now let's get this wedding going." She closed the door quickly behind him.

Draco let out a laugh, more from relief than amusement and smiled when Mr. Granger passed by him to fetch his daughter.

It was another ten minutes when they wed on the rooftop of Cornerstone Apartments. The ceremony was abbreviated as Hermione and Draco had discussed. Ginny stood by Hermione's side as her matron of honor and Draco chose Stefan as his best man, who at three months, was sitting up in his high chair beside his father, his hips supported by straps. During the short ceremony, he was busy gurgling happily and clutching a soft toy of a winged horse.

Their vows consisted of _'to love each other for always, to cherish each other for as long as they both shall live, to share the happy and the sad, the good and the bad'_.

It was all so simple and so quirky and fun that everyone was laughing when the Ceremony Official proclaimed them husband and wife. Everyone cheered and raised their glass to the world's most unlikely couple - Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy, alongside their adopted son, Stefan Andreas Malfoy.

_THE END_

* * *

**Author's Note**

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing! I_ think_ I can be talked into an epilogue but I really would like to start on a new fic. I apologize if the ending seem to be rather hurried. Please stay tuned for I will be posting another Dramione fic soon.


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